


The Brat

by goth_on_ham



Category: Would You Rather (2012)
Genre: Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Non-Consensual Spanking, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Content, Spanking, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 16:37:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8852320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goth_on_ham/pseuds/goth_on_ham
Summary: A long suffering servant of the Lambrick household is given the difficult task of disciplining Julian Lambrick.Set after the events of the movie and references various plot points.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little worried about posting this since it is my first non-Gotham fanfic. However, there aren't very many Would You Rather fic out there, so I don't expect too many people to read this. That kind of makes it a little less daunting.  
> When watching Would You Rather, I was completely taken by what a brat Julian was. *Such* a brat. I talked and brainstormed for quite a few days with a friend who shared this opinion, discussed ideas, and eventually couldn't resist writing something where he gets a long overdue spanking. (If you have no desire to see Julian get a spanking, then this probably isn't for you!)  
> Anyway, I hope you like it!

Edwards had been in service to the Lambrick family for nearly fifteen years. In the beginning, he hadn’t been sure how long he wanted to stay. It paid well but it was hard, stifling work, and being a servant wasn’t exactly how he had pictured things to turn out for him. However it turned out to be the sort of job that you couldn’t exactly just leave. Not once you knew about Shepard Lambrick’s little ‘games’. Edwards had thought it was a joke the first time he had heard of them. Bevans had approached him, Edwards had always found the man a little intimidating and difficult to say no to, and said that Mr Lambrick wanted him to serve dinner to the guests. Apparently it was an honour, only the most trusted staff members were allowed in the house when they were playing a ‘game’. He was to tell no one of what happened and was offered a substantial monetary bonus for taking part. Edwards had agreed. After that, they had him. He couldn’t refuse the Lambrick household anything. Before he knew it, he was burying bodies for them.

The ‘games’ notwithstanding, Edwards had already wanted to leave. He had wanted to quit the very first time he met Julian Lambrick. When Edwards had arrived at the mansion, Julian was a spoiled teenager. He was homeschooled, but seemed to never do any work (Edwards couldn’t remember ever seeing him open a book, never mind read it), and he spent most of his time lounging around, playing video games, and spending his father’s money. Little had changed over the next fifteen years. Back then, some of the staff had whispered to each other ‘maybe he’ll grow out of it’, but the more experienced staff would laugh bitterly and shake their heads. They had been around the brat long enough to know better. Edwards soon heard stories of childhood nannies running screaming from the mansion, some swearing off children forever. He had been sure those stories were exaggerations, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they had some truth to them. 

“Your first name’s _Kelly_?” The youth had remarked upon their first meeting, making absolutely no effort to conceal his amusement. “That’s a girl’s name.”

It was a childish remark, but Edwards remembered the teasing he’d gotten at school for his name. His jaw tightened and he had to fight the temptation to smack the brat across the face. He’d always had a temper. Plus, there was something mean about the kid, something that instantly rubbed him the wrong way. His first impression was confirmed when a few moments after that, a maid had come in with some textbooks for Julian. She spoke timidly, and nervously said that it was time for him to start his math lesson. Julian knocked them out of her hands, snapped at her that he’d already told her _ten times_ that he wasn’t doing it. Was she deaf, or just stupid? 

Edwards had really, _really_ wanted to smack him across the face.

Ever since that day, Edwards had regretted telling him his first name. He should have lied, made something up. Julian wouldn’t have questioned it, but he hadn’t. The brat never let it go. Teasing him and calling him a fag whenever he came into his bedroom to change the bedsheets. 

“Why is it always _you_ that comes to change the sheets? It’s weird.” 

Edwards had learned not to bait him. To resist the (very strong) urge to point out how ridiculous he was being. Julian was a skinny little thing and Edwards had once been an accomplished amateur boxer, he would have had no problem knocking him on his ass. But the kid’s father was his employer. His employer who forced people to play sadistic games for his own amusement. It didn’t seem wise to get on his bad side. He knew to just grit his teeth and keep his head down.

“I can request to switch with someone, sir, if it makes you uncomfortable.” The words came out so politely and calmly that Edwards was quite impressed with himself.

Julian had just laughed and called him a kiss ass. It was better than him getting angry and telling his father.

—

“You want me to do _what_ to Julian?” Edwards had been asked to do a wide range of disturbing and unexpected things over the years in the Lambrick household. He had thought that he had become desensitised to it, but apparently some things could still surprise him.

“Spank him.” 

Perhaps this was a test. To see if Edwards would jump at the opportunity. There was no question that Julian deserved it. While he wasn’t a teenager any more, his attitude had seemed to remain firmly at that stage of development. While struggling to keep a straight face, Edwards shook his head.

“I can’t do that, Bevans. It would be… Well, he is Mr Lambrick’s son. It wouldn’t be proper.” Even as he spoke, Edwards felt himself cringe. Even after fifteen years, being respectful about Julian made his skin crawl.

“How very noble of you,” Bevans smiled slightly, but his voice remained firm. “What if I were to tell you that Mr Lambrick has given his permission… No, his _insistence_ , that you do this?”

Edwards’ eyes met Bevans’ darker ones, he found himself swallowing deeply. This could still be a test. “In that case, I’d like to hear this order from him.”

He was escorted to the study and Bevans explained the servant’s reluctance to accept the task. Shepard chuckled slightly, it was easy for him to understand why Edwards would be suspicious. It was an unusual request.

Unlike his son, Shepard was usually cordial to the staff, but Edwards hadn’t spoken to him often. The few times that he had, the older man had done about ninety-five percent of the talking. He liked the sound of his own voice. Edwards had learned to be a good listener and to keep quiet unless directly prompted, he suspected that was why he had lasted so long and even been allowed the ‘honour’ of participating in some of the ‘games’. 

“Bevans was telling the truth, I want you to spank Julian.” Edwards hadn’t thought Bevans was prone to lying, but all the same, it was surreal to hear Shepard say those words. 

He frowned slightly, looking suitably concerned, confused even. He didn’t want it to seem like he was too keen. “May I ask why, sir? Not to talk out of turn, but your son… As far as I’m aware, sir, he hasn’t been disciplined like this before, and he is a grown man now.” 

‘Not that he acts like it.’ Edwards thought, biting his tongue to keep those words from slipping out.

“I’m aware I should have taken action sooner. Far sooner, even. I overindulged him.” 

Edwards’ face remained stoic, but he felt his breath tighten at the sheer magnitude of that understatement. Aside from the odd telling off, he’d never seen Julian ever be reprimanded for any of his behaviour. Edwards had lost count of the number of times that he’d seen the rich brat snap at a servant because of some trivial reason, often threatening their job, even their life. Ignoring that seemed like more than ‘overindulgence’.

“He attacked one of the players in the last game. You weren’t there, if I recall.”  Shepard continued. “That player went on to win, but still, he had been warned several times that such actions cannot be tolerated. It’s happened in the past, as you know.”

“Yes, sir.” He recalled an incident that occurred a few years ago. Julian had argued with a guest fiercely before the game began, Edwards couldn’t remember what about. The younger Lambrick had taken out his anger on the poor bastard by turning the voltage on the electric shock machine high enough to nearly fry him on the first round. Shepard had been furious and dismissed Julian from the rest of the evening, but other than that, nothing had been done. 

“I don’t want him seriously injured. Just use your hand.” Shepard added quickly, before sitting back down behind his desk, as if the discussion was over. As if that was that. 

“Apologies, sir. I have one more question.”

His employer looked vaguely irritated, but he allowed it. “Yes?”

“Why me, sir?”

—

Julian’s leg had almost completely healed from the icepick. It didn’t hurt at all anymore. The doctor assured him there wouldn’t be any permanent scarring, that the ugly mark it had left would fade over time. Julian was impatient. He hated the idea of carrying the scar for months, years even. A reminder of what that bitch had done to him. His father had told him Iris had won the game. After _stabbing_ him. It felt like a betrayal. She should have immediately been disqualified.

There was a knock at his door and Julian promptly told whoever it was to go away. Since the game, he had spent almost all of his time in his room. At first this had been due to his injury making walking painful, later it had been because of his stormy disposition.

“Your father sent me, sir.”

It was Edwards. Julian scowled and seemed to sink further into his bed. He had the television on and he kept his eyes glued on the screen as the servant entered. Edwards didn’t recognise what he was watching, but the characters were in the middle of a shoot out.

“What do you want, perv?” 

Edwards hadn’t had a relationship since he had started this job. He had indulged in the odd hook up, mostly with men, but he kept his personal life to himself. He hadn’t mentioned it to any of the other staff, so there was no way Julian could know how he chose to spend some of his nights off. Yet ever since their first meeting, the brat insisted on making juvenile jibes at him on the subject. All because of his name. He had never wanted to change it, that felt like surrendering. However, he did often wish that his parents had gone with ‘Robert’, as they had originally intended.

He was about to answer in his usual subdued, respectful manner, when instead, the long suffering servant remembered the potential power he had in this situation. He was here to discipline the brat. There was no need for him to behave so meekly when he had been handed that authority by Julian’s father himself. Edwards took the remote for the television and switched it off, feeling a great deal of satisfaction when the younger Lambrick turned to him, outraged. _Confused._

“What the hell- I was watching that!” Julian complained, standing up from the bed and going to snatch the remote control back, but Edwards didn’t let him. “Give that back, this instant! What the fuck are you doing?!”

Edwards tried not to become intoxicated by the power, but it felt good. He gave Julian a firm push to the chest with his palm, making the smaller man fall back onto the bed so that he was sitting down again. Julian’s mouth hung open for a moment or so, it was the first time Edwards ever remembered seeing him stunned. 

“I’m glad I have your full attention now, Julian.” He said, his voice level, but inside he was committing the visage of Julian’s speechless face to memory. He doubted it would last long. Once he knew what he intended to do to him… Well, he had no expectations that Julian would take the news with quiet grace and dignity. So he decided to enjoy the build up. He undid his cuffs, taking time to roll his sleeves up over his lean, yet muscular forearms. He had little time to practice the sport now, but his past as an amateur boxer still showed in his physique. He wasn’t bulky, but there was an unmistakable strength to his body. When he had asked Shepard why he had been chosen for this task, that had been part of the answer.

“I don’t want him badly hurt, he is my son after all. However, some level of force will be needed to get him to cooperate.” Shepard had explained. “Bevans suggested you, he tells me you were quite a formidable fighter before joining this household.”

Julian’s eyes followed the servant’s hands, watching as he rolled up his sleeves. He didn’t yet know what was planned for him, but something about the action made him feel ill at ease. A feeling he was not terribly accustomed to and one that he didn’t like at all.

“I asked you a question, pig. What the hell are you doing, coming into my room like this? I told you to get out.” He met Edwards’ eyes, glaring up at him, but he hadn’t gotten back up. It was as if he could sense that he would just be pushed back down. He’d never seen Edwards like this before. He’d never heard him call him by his first name.

The uncertainty Julian was feeling had carried onto his speech and Edwards found himself smiling slightly. “As I said, your father sent me.” 

“What for?” The younger man demanded, quickly growing impatient and angry as his nervousness grew. 

“I’m to express his disappointment over you interfering with the last game. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” 

Julian snorted, scoffed, and folded his arms across his chest. “I already know that he’s ‘disappointed’.” He pointed out, a petulance to his voice that made Edwards think to himself how very little Julian had grown up since he had come to work at this mansion.

“I’m in charge of administering your punishment.” He revealed.

“What?” Julian felt his heart beat a little faster inside his chest. 

“I’m going to spank you. Hard.” 

The next few seconds happened very quickly. Julian blinked, unable to believe what he had just heard come out of the servant’s mouth. This had to be a joke. It _had_ to be. After all, his father did love to play games. But Edwards seemed serious. There was absolutely no way in hell he was letting that happen to him. There was no way he would let some stupid servant _spank_ him. The very notion made Julian want to scream. His outraged thoughts were interrupted when one of Edwards’ hands reached out for him. Julian jerked back, and scrambled backwards over the bed with rather impressive speed. 

“Don’t touch me!” He yelled, the volume of his voice spiking sharply. Edwards recalled Julian screaming like that several times over the years, normally when his short temper had reached critical mass. He didn’t even flinch at it. He had expected it. “You think I believe that my dad told you to do that?! You’re just a perv!” 

With that, Julian picked up the lamp on his bedside table and threw it at Edwards’. He missed him, just, and it smashed on the wall behind him. 

“Get out of my room! I’ll have you fired!”

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself after we’re done.” Edwards began to walk around the bed towards Julian, and this only made Julian grow even more hysterical. He picked up the bedside table that the lamp had been on, then threw that. Edwards knocked it aside with his arm. It would bruise, but he was undeterred. Julian’s eyes widened and he made a dash for it by climbing back over his bed. 

Edwards’ caught his ankle, and with a sharp tug, he pulled the younger man so that he fell face first onto the mattress. Julian kicked him hard in the chest with his other foot. He wasn’t particularly strong, but he was scrappy. Edwards had to let go, slightly winded by the unexpected kick. 

Taking this chance, Julian ran for the door, but Edwards recovered quickly and blocked off his exit. 

“You’re just making it worse for yourself.” He warned the brat, growing angry. He hadn’t expected Julian to go quietly over his lap, but this was ridiculous. He had already thought that a spanking was the least that Julian deserved, but now, he felt even more sure that he would enjoy dishing out the long overdue punishment. It had become abundantly clear as to why his father had thought someone physically fit was needed for this task.

Edwards stepped forwards, steely determination and growing impatience in his stride. Julian backed away and screamed at him, screamed threats and promises that Edwards’ job, no, his _life_ , was forfeit if he went through with this. He hurled whatever was within arms reach at the other man. The room was a wreck by the time he had corned Julian up against a wall. There was nothing left for him to throw at him.

“Are you quite finished?” Edwards asked, reaching out and grabbing his wrist in a vice-like grip. The hold was met with more howls of protest and threats of violence. Apparently, Julian was _not_ finished. But it didn’t matter, he had him now. He wasn’t letting him go. Using his superior strength, Edwards dragged the unruly, thrashing young man over to the bed and sat down on it. Finally, he managed to pull him over his lap. He pinned his wrists behind his back with one hand and before his kicking could become a problem, he locked in his legs with one of his own. 

“Let me go! Let me go _right now_! You’ll regret this!” 

Edwards responded by taking down his pants and his underwear, which only made Julian’s cries increase. Somehow. Edwards had no doubt that the entire mansion could hear every word of Julian’s screams.

Predictably, when he pulled down the brat’s pants, more accusations of him being a fag and a pervert came flooding hatefully out of the young man’s mouth. Edwards found himself rolling his eyes. 

‘Don’t flatter yourself, kid.’ He thought to himself. 

“You’re so dead! You’re dead! I’ll kill you! You can’t do this!” Julian continued to screech, his hips squirming as best as they could, and his arms fighting to be freed from Edwards’ powerful grip. His mind was bubbling over with rage. His throat was already growing hoarse from shouting, but he had no intention of stopping until he was let go. However, behind all the anger and the threats, there was another strong emotion that caused his heart to pound frantically in his chest. He was scared. He had never been so degraded in his life, he had never had something like this happen to him. Had his father really allowed this? He didn’t want to believe it. “You can’t do this to me!” He repeated, his shouts and demands growing more and more desperate sounding until…  
  
_Smack!_

Edwards’ hand descended hard on the upturned ass, immediately leaving a pink mark where he’d struck. Julian’s screams were cut off by a gasp, and Edwards’ found that he liked that reaction. Having had such a difficult time getting the brat over his lap, he wasted no time in laying into him. His open hand smacking the exposed backside over and over, quickly turning the pale skin pink. Julian’s screams soon returned, but now the desperation in them seemed to almost outweigh the anger. 

“Stop! S-Stop it! Ah! You can’t! Ah! Let _go!_ A-Ah!” 

Edwards had originally planned to give Julian a verbal dressing down while he had him over his lap, but the sheer volume of Julian’s protestations made that next to impossible. The servant found that he didn’t mind. He decided just to concentrate on keeping  Julian where he wanted him and giving him what he so richly deserved. After all, he had direct orders from his employer to give the brat a thorough spanking. He wasn’t going to shirk from that responsibility.

Julian had watched people endure all sorts of agony during his father’s dinner parties, but he was unaccustomed to enduring any sort of pain himself. He remembered the soldier in the last game, Travis, and his grunts of pain when the sjambok lashed his back over and over, until it was bloody. A spanking was obviously far less severe than that, but that was no comfort to the spoiled young man. Travis had been a player in the game, he had come for a handout from his father. They could do what they liked to him. He wasn’t like that. A servant had no right to lay a hand on him, no matter whose permission he had. The perceived injustice made the ordeal all the harder to endure, and he yelped and cried out, squirming with all of his might, continuing to spit out words that were meant to intimidate Edwards into stopping. However, nothing he said seemed to work, and the powerlessness and the frustration helped in bringing tears to his eyes. To him, this was unbearable and humiliating and nothing short of torture. He didn’t care if he ‘deserved it’, how dare this pig do this to him?

“You’ll regret this!” Julian wailed, for about the twelfth time. The words were bitter and spiteful, despite the tears that made his voice quiver in a way that Edwards hadn’t heard before.

“I doubt that. In fact, if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, even after this…  This will most likely not be the last time you find yourself in over my lap.” The older man remarked, trying not to sound too pleased by that. Julian swore in response, the bedsheets twisting in his fists as he barked out more demands for Edwards to stop.

Edwards didn’t think that he was a sadistic person, and reducing most people to tears would have made him feel uncomfortable, but Julian was an extreme case. Besides, although his ass _was_ quite pink, the sobbing he could hear coming from the writhing, cursing younger man just made him seem even more like a spoiled child, rather than a pitiful victim. They weren’t tears of remorse or regret, they were tears of frustration and anger (and yes, pain), so Edwards didn’t find much sympathy for them in his heart. Julian probably didn’t think he deserved any of this. 

“The next time you feel like hurting someone, be it a guest, one of the servants, or anyone else. I want you to remember this.” Edwards’ chiding words made Julian want to scream curses at him, but as much as he was still outraged at what was happening to him, he found that he had no more screams left in him. They had gradually died down, and he had been reduced to sobs. Even Julian’s energy for insults and threats had its limits. The servant had to admit that part of him had been a little impressed by the brat’s stamina. For someone who spent nearly all of his time sitting on his ass, he had put up an impressive fight. 

The smacks continued to land at a steady pace, each one provoking another sob. The skin was deep pink now, turning red. It would most likely serve as a painful reminder to him for at least a couple of days. His arm hadn’t tired, but the servant began to feel like he had done enough. If the brat had still been howling out threats of violence and murder, Edwards would have found it easier to keep going. Originally, he had planned to continue for as long as he could. If Shepard hadn’t specified for him to just use his hand, he might have even moved on to give him some licks with his belt. He’d have had him bawling out apologies for every cruel word that had passed his lips over the years, every act of violence, every time he’d done something wrong and not been punished for it. 

But when it came to it… He found that the sobs were as far as Edwards was willing to go. Was Julian sorry? Probably not. He probably still felt like this was unfair, that he deserved revenge for this humiliation.

‘Let him think that,’ Edwards thought to himself, landing a few more lighter swats to the younger man’s sit spots, before he stopped. ‘It won’t change what happened.’

“Shall I pass on an apology from you to your father? Or would you like to do that yourself?” He asked, loosening his grip on Julian’s quivering form. The sounds of his crying hadn’t calmed down yet, his back tense, it seemed like he didn’t quite believe it was over yet. 

“Fuck off,” Came the muffled response, it was spiteful, but his voice was so thick with tears that Edwards found it hard to do anything more but sigh in response to it. He’d let him have that. He probably _shouldn’t_ , but he had already decided to cease. The point he’d been sent to make had been made. 

“Very well then, sir.” He returned to calling him by the formal title he was accustomed to using and slipped his pants and underwear back up so they covered the red skin. He heard Julian hiss in response and since he wasn’t being watched, he allowed himself to smirk slightly. The thought of him shifting uncomfortably at the breakfast table tomorrow morning made Edwards feel like this had been worth it. Even if Julian wasn’t sorry for what he had done, the brat wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for a while. It might even be a match for the embarrassment that Julian had caused him over the years, when he’d mocked his given name at every opportunity.

He released Julian and stood up from the bed. He took some time to roll down his sleeves and button them back up, the sound of Julian sniffling and breathing heavily just behind him. When he was done, he made his way over to the door and looked back into the room. It was absolutely trashed from Julian’s earlier tantrum. If Shepard had any sense, he wouldn’t replace the broken objects. That might be a better reminder for Julian that actions had consequences than the spanking had been. However, Edwards didn’t believe that the elder Lambrick would do that. Julian would most likely his room wholly refurbished by the end of tomorrow.

“Good night, sir.” The clock in the room had been smashed, but he knew that it must be late. Besides, he doubted that he or the rest of the household would see Julian again anytime that night. Edwards switched the light off and closed the bedroom door behind him.

When Edwards stepped out onto the landing, he heard the sounds of several pairs of footsteps hurry away. He ran a hand through his dark hair, unable to stop the chuckle that rose in his throat. He couldn’t blame them for listening, he would have done the same. He doubted that Julian would appreciate the whole house knowing about his punishment, but then again, that was hardly the point.

Edwards shook his hand lightly, trying to ease some of the sting, and made his way down the stairs. He had to report back to his employer and tell him he’d carried out his orders. Although, perhaps he’d already heard most of it from his study.

—

Once Edwards had gone, Julian lay where he was for several minutes in the dark. He hadn’t cried like this for several years. His head was killing him, his throat burned, but those complaints were nothing compared to how his ass felt. The pain radiated and throbbed and when he finally began to move, he couldn’t help but wince at the initial movements. He cursed beneath his breath, wiping tears from his face and then reaching back to rub the tender area. 

He was tempted to see what it looked like, but he found that he didn’t want to know. Besides, his bedroom mirror lay smashed on the floor, having been dislodged when he’d thrown a chair at Edwards.

“Fuck.” He murmured again. When the bastard had started to hit him, he’d thought he’d storm downstairs the moment he was released. He’d scream at his father and _demand_ that he be fired. Not only fired, but be made to pay for daring to humiliate him like this. The sjambok would come in handy for that. But now that he had been released, Julian found that he couldn’t bring himself to go downstairs. He knew that Edwards had been telling the truth, that his father had told him to do this, and while the betrayal angered him, he also found himself fearing what it meant. The thought that this would be followed up by future punishments made Julian’s insides twist in dread. 

With that worry playing on his mind, Julian moved back onto his bed. Even the weight of the duvet against his ass was uncomfortable. He whined in frustration, fresh angry tears pricking the corners of his bloodshot eyes. He fell asleep to thoughts of wreaking revenge on Edwards.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Julian reluctantly made his way downstairs for breakfast. He would have skipped it, but his stomach had began to growl in protest. He looked around the door of the dining room and saw his father sitting at the head of the table. His plate was already empty and he was reading a newspaper. Julian found himself feeling uncharacteristically awkward and he was tempted to steal away back to his bedroom. He could wait until his father had left. However, he must have made some small noise as Shepard looked up from the paper.  
  
“Julian. You’re up earlier than usual.” He sounded pleased to see him. He sounded  _normal_. As if he hadn’t ordered one of the staff to punish him the night before.  
  
Since he had been caught and it was too late to retreat, Julian walked over to the dining room table. “I couldn’t sleep.” He muttered, pointedly, and he was annoyed when his father chuckled slightly.  
  
“Funny, I would have thought you would have tired yourself out with all that screaming.” Shepard remarked, finding the scandalised look on his son’s face funnier than he should have. “I expect nearly everyone in the house heard.”  
  
The younger Lambrick couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of this beforehand, and the revelation was not a welcome one. He swore underneath his breath and moodily pulled his usual chair out, only to be confronted by a rather large cushion sitting on the seat.  
  
“One of the servants thought you might need it.” His father explained.  
  
Julian glowered at it, then tore the insulting item away from the chair and threw it aside. Shepard wasn’t too surprised by that reaction and went back to reading his newspaper, the pages hiding his smirk. Julian sat down, and he immediately regretted throwing away the cushion, but he couldn’t bring himself to go pick it up and put it back. Why did they have such uncomfortable seats anyway? Couldn’t they afford something better? He reached out and began buttering a slice of toast, spreading it on too thick and unevenly, when his father spoke up again.  
  
“I was thinking of purchasing a paddle to help Edwards with his new duties.”   
  
Julian nearly dropped his toast.  
  
“What?” He demanded, a sudden whirlwind of emotions taking control over his mind, and his better judgment. “What do you mean ‘his new duties’?” He snapped, dropping the knife onto the plate with a loud clatter and throwing the toast aside, towards the cushion. “What happened last night… That’s  _not_  happening again!” He pushed out of his chair and stood at his end of the table, clearly furious. However, Shepard was unintimidated. While he hadn’t been proactive in disciplining his son before now, he was more than used to Julian’s little tantrums. They were intense and loud and often gave him a headache, but he wasn’t afraid of them.  
  
“Julian-“  
  
“No! It’s not happening again!”  
  
“Julian, sit down.” Shepard persisted, a growing impatience in his tone, even if he was significantly better at keeping a cool head than his son was.  
  
“Not until you say it won’t happen again! For fuck sake, I’m a grown ma-“  
  
“ _Julian_.” His father said, more firmly, folding the newspaper over and placing it on the tabletop. “Sit down this instant. Unless you wish to discuss this with Edwards instead.”  
  
The implication wasn’t lost on the impetuous young man, and he found himself slowly sinking back down into his seat. The discomfort he felt at the action reminding him why he definitely did not want to ‘discuss’ this with Edwards.  
  
“You’re seriously going to let that fag lay a hand on me, _again_?” He muttered spitefully. Despite being quietened by the threat, he was still far from accepting his fate. “It’s not right.”  
  
Shepard rolled his eyes at that. Julian didn’t seem like he was in much of a position to be making claims of what was right or wrong. “Watch your language, it’s childish, and uncalled for.” Julian sighed roughly at the reprimand, as if it pained him to listen to it. “Besides,” The elder Lambrick continued, “If you behave like the grown man that you claim to be, you needn’t worry about Edwards laying a hand on you again.”  
  
Julian shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn’t want to be forced into behaving a certain way. It was suffocating. Edwards  _had_  to go.  
  
—  
  
Edwards sighed and made his way to the kitchen. He needed a coffee. Or something stronger. It had been a strange day. Before last night, he had spent fifteen years barely speaking to Shepard Lambrick. However, this morning his employer had enthusiastically spent the better part of two hours discussing different types of wood with him. He should have known that someone of Shepard’s interests wouldn’t be happy with just  _any_  store bought paddle. Only the best could tan  _his_  precious son’s ass. In Edwards’ opinion, it was ridiculous. His hand seemed to do the job just fine the night before, but if he should need a paddle, as long as it was flat and made of wood, what else really mattered? He couldn’t care less if it was made of ‘sapele’ or ‘padauk’ or plain old oak. He was sure that Julian wouldn’t care either.  
  
He opened the door to the kitchen and was nearly knocked off of his feet. Instead, he knocked the other person off of their feet.  
  
“Ah! I’m sorry!” The unfamiliar person exclaimed, despite the fact that they had just been knocked onto their ass.  
  
“Forget it. I should have been looking,” As Edwards leaned down to help them up, he was able to see their face more clearly. And he was gorgeous. The kind of gorgeous that left you lost for words for a few moments and made you blush like some sort of foolish, lovestruck schoolboy. “I should have been looking where I was going.” He finally finished his sentence and helped the young man up onto his feet.  
  
—  
  
“What the hell is that?” Julian demanded, gesturing to the bucket of soapy water and mop that Edwards was holding. He, on the other hand, was holding a PS4 controller. He had no wish to let that go in favour of the bucket and mop that Edwards seemed to expect him to take.  
  
“Your father instructed me to see that you start spending your time more productively. Since you have no interest in college or a career, I thought that this would be a suitable-“    
  
“Well, you thought wrong!” The younger man snapped, about to go back to playing his game when Edwards placed the bucket and the mop down onto the floor and took a purposeful step towards him. Julian had been lying on his stomach on his bed, and he was suddenly aware of how vulnerable that position made him. He rolled over onto his side slightly, trying not to wince as he did, and raised his hands up. “Back off!”  
  
Edwards’ didn’t. Instead, he took one of Julian’s wrists in his hand. He squeezed. Julian’s eyes widened in panic and his mouth opened, no doubt to argue that the servant was being an unreasonable bastard. But Edwards spoke before he had the chance to.  
  
“Your father has put me in charge of your discipline.” He reminded him, his voice low and his dark eyes meeting Julian’s light ones. The new authority gave him confidence to speak to Julian so frankly, and he had to admit, it felt good. “So, you are going to work. Every day. Or you are going to find some other constructive way to spend your time.”  
  
Julian’s already pale complexion seemed to blanch and Edwards, even with his newfound authority, managed to fight the urge to smirk.  
  
“Of course, if you don’t want to clean, I’m sure I can think of another way to make you sweat for the next hour.” His fingers tightened more and his voice grew even lower in warning. “But if I were you, I would take the first option.”  
  
—  
  
Julian grumbled bitterly to himself as he scrubbed the mop over the floor. He hadn’t stopped sighing and huffing since he had started. It had only been ten minutes, yet he acted as if it had been  _hours_.  
  
“When you’re done, there are some boxes in the cellar that need to be emptied and put in the trash.” Edwards instructed, watching him from the nearby doorway. He wasn’t foolish enough to let Julian out of his sight during this. There was no way the brat would work without a watchful eye on him and the threat of punishment hanging over his head.  
  
“Whatever.” Julian muttered under his breath, dipping the mop in the bucket again, a scowl firmly plastered on his face.  
  
Edwards was about to ask him what he had just said, when a hand tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
“Kelly.” The voice was bright and sweet, and Edwards immediately knew who it was.  
  
“Xiang.” The stern expression on his face faded immediately and he turned around to face his new coworker. “Hey. I didn’t expect to bump into you again so soon.”  
  
“I had to fetch something for the kitchen.” Xiang explained, bouncing slightly on his heels. Edwards thought it was adorable.  
  
They had spoken for a short while after he’d helped him back to his feet. They exchanged names, smalltalk, and Edwards had found out that he was the newest member of the kitchen staff. He wanted to be a chef.  
  
“Is your first day going okay?”  
  
“It’s busy,” he admitted. “But it’s fun. Marcel seems like a nice man too.”  
  
“Marcel seems like a nice man?” Edwards laughed a little at that, unable to stop himself. Marcel cooked most of the meals for the household. Edwards had never heard anyone mention him without saying that he was abrasive, rude, and difficult to work with. “You’re joking.”  
  
“No, I’m serious. He’s lovely.” Xiang laughed too, and he squeezed Edwards’ arm. The small act of physical contact cut Edwards’ laugh short, replaced it with a flustered smile. “It must be my charm.”  
  
The fledgling cook winked, and with a wave, he left Edwards where he was, completely under the spell of Xiang’s ‘charm’ as well.  
  
His daze was broken by the sudden sound of Julian throwing the mop to the floor.  
  
“This is  _stupid_!” He complained, loudly, his head rolling back as he vented his anger. “How much longer do I have to do this?”  
  
Edwards sighed. It seemed that he could never just enjoy a moment. Something always interrupted it. He folded his arms across his chest and quickly reverted back to his role of the strict taskmaster. Julian made it easy.   
  
“Pick up that mop.” He ordered, without acknowledging Julian’s question. He had already told him when they started.  
  
“What’s the point of me doing this? We already pay people to clean the damn house for us.” Julian argued, not making a move to pick up the mop. “Why should  _I_  scrub the floor while you flirt with that slant-eyed f-“  
  
Before Julian could get the next word out, Edwards had done what he had so often been tempted to in his fifteen years at the Lambrick household. He smacked Julian across the face. The slap was hard enough to knock the younger man to the ground.  
  
Julian’s head spun, a harsh sting pulsed through the left side of his face and to his humiliation, tears sprung to his eyes from the sheer shock of the sudden blow. “You-“  
  
  “I’ll regret that. Sure. Whatever.” Edwards had no patience for the brat’s threats. Besides, he didn’t trust himself to listen to them without hitting him again. “But not as much as you’ll regret speaking another word against Xiang.”  
  
He was crouching in front of him now and he could see that Julian was trembling. From fear? Surprise? Anger? It was probably a mixture of the three. The slap would leave a mark. Julian’s father would notice. He probably wouldn’t be thrilled that he’d struck his son’s face. But Edwards felt confident that he wouldn’t be fired for this. He was in charge of Julian’s discipline after all.  
  
The older man got back up onto his feet and straightened his cuffs, “Pick up that mop and get back to work.” He repeated, and he nodded in the direction of the mop.  
  
Julian’s mouth hung open slightly, like he wanted to speak, wanted to scream.  
  
“Another word out of you and you’re getting spanked. Right here and now.”  
  
Then he closed it, his teeth grit together. He was fuming, but for now, he remained silent. He picked up the mop. Edwards had to go.


	3. Chapter 3

“You’re okay with him hitting me like that?”

“Of course I’m not ‘okay’ with it, but I won’t fire him. Edwards is a useful member of staff, one who I can count on, despite his little outburst. An outburst that I’m sure you provoked.” 

Julian scowled and swore, not bothering to conceal it under his breath.

“Julian,” His father stood up from behind his desk, began to walk towards his adult son, who was wearing an expression that made him look more like a moody teenager than a fully grown man. “I know that you’re not exactly thrilled at this new arrangement, but you brought it on yourself. It is time for you to grow up, whether you want to or not.”

The younger man didn’t answer, instead, he just turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. 

—

Two people sat at a small table at the back of a busy bar. Some rather tinny music played from a radio above their heads and both of them had to nearly shout at each other to be heard. 

“Wait, so you smacked your boss’ son _across the face_ and you’ve still got a job?” 

“Yeah. Crazy, right?” 

“Definitely crazy. Maybe I should get a job there too.”

“I don’t think you’d like it. Besides, this kid’s got a mouth on him. If you met him, you might end up knocking his teeth out.” 

The woman sitting across from Edwards laughed, a loud laugh that could be heard even above the tinny music and bustle of the bar. “Aw come on. He can’t be all that bad.” 

“That rich brat that I’ve told you about time and time again? Yeah, he’s that bad.” Edwards snorted, finishing his drink with one deep swallow. It felt like ages since he had last had time off. He got to go home in the evenings, but he was always too exhausted to go out after a full day of work. Having the next three days off would be a welcome respite.

“Wait, he’s the same kid who kept making fun of your name… Isn’t he?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, yeah, I might end up knocking his teeth out.” She laughed again. Her name was Mara and she was one of the few close friends that Edwards had. He was quiet and often busy, and he wasn’t good at keeping in touch with people. Mara was loud and always free, and she was very good at keeping in touch with people. 

He knew her from his boxing days. She had often been paired with him, and she won more than half of their matches. About eight years ago, she had transitioned and while she could still throw an impressive punch, she had decided there was no way she was going to let her ‘new face’ get mangled in the ring after she’d spent so much money on getting it how she wanted.

Edwards’ phone started to ring and with a groan, he saw that it was work. “Give me a minute.”

He went outside and took the phone call underneath the bar’s narrow patio. Rain still got at him and when he came back a little under five minutes later, the front of his shirt was heavily speckled with rain drops. 

“What was that about?” Mara asked, having ordered another drink. She could tell from her friend’s expression that it hadn’t been good news.

“The brat’s gone missing. I’ve to go find him.” Edwards replied, sitting back down on his chair with an aggravated sigh. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and then ran a hand through his hair. 

“Missing? That’s kind of extreme, isn’t it?”

“Not really. He’s done it before. Takes a handful of cash, turns his phone off, and no one sees him for a few days.”

“That’s an expensive way to have a temper tantrum.” Mara commented, smiling, but it was sympathetic. “It’s your time off. Isn’t there someone else who can try finding him?”

“Since I’m sort of in charge of him now, I’m afraid not.” 

“Want me to come with you? Another pair of eyes might be helpful, and I have a car.” 

Edwards knew that he probably shouldn’t drag Mara into this, but he had to admit, it would be a lot easier (and a lot less costly) if he could get around in a car. 

“Thanks. That would be great.”

—

Julian counted the thick wad of notes that he’d stashed into his pocket. $10,000. More than enough to pay for anything he wanted over the next couple of days. He decided that he deserved that. After what his father and that bastard Edwards had done to him, $10,000 was nothing. 

He really should have taken more. 

“You’re really knocking them back, blondie.” A large hand pressed onto his shoulder and Julian flinched before he could help it. He turned around on the barstool, and saw two large men standing in front of him. They looked about five years older than him but they both had heavy beards and tree trunk arms. They wore checkered shirts with white t-shirts underneath, their bulky frames struggling to be contained by the clothes. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

“I’m not a regular.” Julian replied, a little too snippily to be sensible, but he had no capacity for good manners. 

“I bet. No one with that amount of cash drinks here. You’d think you’d be in the rich part of town. What’re you doing in a dive like this?” The slightly larger of the two men asked.

“Why’s that your business?” 

The men laughed and the hand that was on Julian’s shoulder tightened until it hurt. “That’s not very friendly. I think you should buy us a drink to make up for it.” 

Julian scoffed, then shifted off of the barstool. The man let him get out of his grip but didn’t stop looking at him, a keen sort of glint in his eyes that would have worried the younger man if he had any sense. 

He walked out into the street, cursing underneath his breath about the two ‘pigs’ that had gotten in his face, only to suddenly feel the same hand as before on his shoulder but this time it turned him around and a clenched fist sunk into his gut. Julian choked in pain and doubled over, and the larger of the two men shoved him into the alleyway beside the bar. He tried to stand up straight again, to defend himself, but before he could a punch landed on his jaw. It was hard enough to send him spiralling into the wet pavement with a painful thud.  
  
“You little punk,” The larger man lurched down and grabbed a fistful of Julian’s blond hair, making him cry out in pain and panic. “Not so cocky now, huh?”

“We ought to cut you, teach you some manners.” The shorter man added, taking out a pocket knife that gleamed dangerously underneath the alleyway’s dim artificial light. 

“If you’d been nicer, we would’ve just taken the cash. But you pushed us.” 

“Exactly.”

The larger man’s rough hands reached inside the pockets of Julian’s pants until he found the large wad of cash and handed it to his friend. In return, his friend gave him the knife. 

“Don’t!” Julian protested, his voice barely more than a squeak. The desperation of it made the two men laugh cruelly. 

“What do you think, Richie? His face? Something about his face pisses me off. It’d look better with a scar.” The tip of the knife poked Julian’s smooth cheek, not hard enough to make him bleed, but hard enough to hurt. A distressed whimper passed from Julian’s lips and he began to think these two maniacs might actually kill him. 

“I c-can get you more money, just don’t cut me!” He promised, but his words were just met with a callous chuckle. 

“Maybe we cut you  _and_ you get us more money. I like the sound of that better. Punks like you need to be taught-“

“Hey!” 

The two men turned as they heard a loud voice boom at them from a few paces away. 

“Fuck.” The larger one ran first, followed by his shorter friend. They had the money after all, there was no use risking getting arrested over some rich brat. 

Julian could have cried with relief, but instead he tried to get up, to try to get a look at his saviour. Then, he saw that it was one of the very people he had been running away from. His heart froze in his chest, and he turned to run as well, but Edwards’ hand gripped his arm and pulled him close. 

“Don’t even think about it, you little idiot.” He warned with a deep whisper, eyes narrowed and angry. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

“I’m not a fucking child!” Julian exclaimed, his gratitude for being rescued quickly bubbling into rage when Edwards scolded him. He was always quick to anger, but he was even more emotional than usual thanks to the intense encounter and the alcohol in his system. 

“You could have fooled me. Now shut up and get over here.” He began to march Julian out of the alleyway and opened the backdoor to Mara’s car, shoving the young man, who was wet and muddy his fall, into the seat. 

Mara glanced at Julian from the rearview mirror. He didn’t look too different from what she’d imagined from Edwards’ descriptions, although he was prettier than she’d guessed. 

“Where are we going now?” She asked Edwards once he got into the front seat beside her. 

“Back to his house. It seems my days off have been canceled.” 

“At least he’s in one piece. You okay, honey?” Mara hadn’t a good impression of Julian. Edwards had told her enough anecdotes for her to know that he was quite the piece of work, but she still thought that they should make sure he was okay. 

Julian’s eyes widened slightly, seeming to be taken by surprise once he noticed Mara’s appearance. Edwards caught his expression, and before Julian could say anything cutting, turned around in his seat with a warning glare. 

“I’m fine.” Julian muttered, turning his head to the side with a defiant air. 

Mara raised an eyebrow but she wasn’t surprised. She started up the car. 

The car journey back to the Lambrick estate was about twenty minutes in heavy traffic and the journey was painfully silent. Julian sitting in the back, his arms folded across his chest and his face displaying just how displeased he was about how badly his escape had went. 

He wanted to know how they had found him so quickly, but he didn’t want to talk to them. 

Edwards sat in the front, beside Mara, trying to keep himself calm and resist the urge to demand answers from Julian about what the hell he had been thinking. It was bad enough that he had stolen his father’s money and gone off on his own without a word of warning, but he could have gotten himself killed by those two thugs in the alleyway. He was lucky that all he’d gotten was a fright and a bit of a beating. 

“Thanks so much, Mara.” Edwards sighed as his friend pulled up outside the front gate. 

“That’s alright. Call me later, okay?” 

“Sure.” He unclipped his seatbelt and got out of the car. Then he went to the back and held the door open for Julian. The younger man huffed and then unclipped his own seatbelt. It wouldn’t have surprised Edwards if he was considering trying to make another break for it.

Once he was out of the car, Edwards walked him up to the house with his hand on his arm the entire time. He didn’t trust Julian enough to let him go even for a second. He would try to snatch his arm away every so often, but Edwards didn’t let him.

“You’re giving back every dollar that you took, understand?” He told him once they were outside the front door. 

“I don’t have it.” Julian replied, unapologetic, and bitter.

“What do you mean?”

“God, you’re thick. What do you think those two bastards were doing in the alley? They took it!” Julian told him impatiently, rolling his eyes and trying once again to snatch his arm away. 

Edwards sighed in frustration and ran a hand over his face. This was just wonderful. “You’re going to meet with the police, and they’re going to take a description of the two men. We need to get that money back.”

“It’s just $10,000.” 

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Edwards grumbled, opening the front door and shoving Julian inside. 

—

Shepard was relieved that Julian was back home and when Edwards informed him of the robbery, he seemed to share his son’s attitude. He didn’t want to get the police involved. Julian shot Edwards a slightly smug look at that, and it made the servant want to drag Julian off for his punishment right there and then. However, Julian had undergone a pretty traumatic experience that evening, and as angry as he was, he knew that he should at least give the brat time to shower, eat something, and change out of his mud stained clothes.

After around an hour, Julian opened the door to his bedroom. Edwards stood just to the side of him and shut the door behind him. Julian jumped slightly, then found his eyes drawn downwards to the paddle that Edwards was brandishing. He reached for the doorknob, but Edwards grabbed his wrist, beginning to drag him off to his bed.

“No! Let me go!”

He ignored his protests and soon had him pinned over his lap, he was more efficient at it than he had been the last time. He was prepared for Julian to kick and scream, so he had adjusted his strategy accordingly. The younger man didn’t stand a chance. 

“I just got back from being robbed! Give me a break!” Julian complained, his voice frustrated, whining, and it made Edwards’ jaw tighten in annoyance.

“I should have been having a break right now, but instead I had to spend my evening looking for you.” He swatted him with his open hand, making the wriggling young man yelp out in pain. “And getting robbed was your own stupid fault. You’re lucky you weren’t killed.” Another swat, harder this time. 

“Ah! I’m sure you’d be really torn up if I had been,” Julian snapped, while attempting to twist off of Edward’s lap. 

“I’d be out of a job. So yeah, I’d be kind of unhappy if you got killed.” Edwards replied, continuing with the smacks for a minute or so before he pulled down Julian’s pyjama bottoms. The skin was softer than usual because he’d just showered, and it was still slightly marked from the last time Edwards had punished him. It seemed that Julian bruised easily, but that didn’t make Edwards want to go any easier on him.

He picked up the paddle, deciding that now was as good a time as any to use it. Running away from home, stealing $10,000, and nearly getting himself killed felt like a paddle-worthy offence. 

“Your father was insistent on something expensive.” He said as he tapped it against the exposed, waiting skin and Julian’s breath hitched in his throat. Edwards wasn’t sure what type of wood Shepard had ended up going for, but personally, he couldn’t tell the difference. Not that he had much experience with paddles. 

“Don’t you fucking dare hit me wi-  _Ah_!”

His threat, spoken through gritted teeth in a desperate attempt to sound threatening, was cut off by the first crack of the paddle. Edwards had hit him hard, leaving a hot pink mark on the already slightly tender skin. 

Julian gasped, unable to believe how much it hurt already, and he desperately attempted to kick and struggle away, but it was useless. 

Edwards raised an eyebrow, a little surprised at just how much of an impact that seemed to make. He’d thought his hand was pretty effective, but it seemed that you got what you paid for. The paddle already had Julian sniffling after a single swat. 

He raised it a second time, this time bringing it down on his sit spots. Julian gasped again and swore, although it didn’t sound very threatening when his voice was thick with tears. 

“You’re not being as difficult as I expected, if I didn’t know better I’d think you’d learned a lesson from last time.” Edwards commented, before a third swat landed. The skin beneath it turned bright pink, gradually fading a bit, but not returning to its original pale hue. 

Julian didn’t appreciate the comment and he twisted defiantly, as if to prove that he hadn’t learned anything. It wasn’t a very wise decision. Edwards picked up the pace, the slaps a bit lighter, but faster, and still hard enough to make Julian howl in despair.

“A-Ah! Ow! F-Fuck, stop it!” He kept trying to reach back, but Edwards would always bat his hands away. Though eventually, he tired of doing that and instead pinned his wrists behind his back, keeping them there and observing how they clenched and unclenched as each smack landed. “Oww! S-Stop! Stop, it hurts too much!”

Edwards paused, but didn’t slacken his grip on the paddle. “This is the least you deserve, now stop whining.” He scolded, before starting again. 

Julian continued to whine. Tears of frustration and pain rolled down his face, and he began to feel very sorry for himself at having to endure such a harsh punishment. 

“You’re going to apologise to your father for worrying him, you’re going to apologise to me for making me come and find you, and then tomorrow, you’re going to spend the afternoon scrubbing the floors until I say otherwise, understood?” 

Julian sobbed and pressed his face against the soft surface of his bed, the humiliation of being forced to apologise stinging nearly as badly as the paddle did. 

“Fine! Just stop!”

“Say please.” 

Julian swore again but he couldn’t stand anymore. “ _Please_.”

He hadn’t said that word, without an edge of sarcasm, for many years. 

“And apologise to me.”

“I’m sorry.” He sobbed, bitter and sore and just desperately wanting it to be over.

“Fine. Ten more swats, then I’ll stop.”

“But I apologised!” Julian yelped, his struggles beginning anew at that terrible news. “That’s not fair!”

“You stole $10,000. Ten more swats with the paddle is  _lenient_.” Edwards wasn’t planning on hitting him very hard, but he wanted this to really stick with the brat. If his job was now to discipline Julian, he was going to make his mark. He was going to be effective.

“I can’t take anymore!”

“You don’t have a choice.” Edwards replied, tapping the upturned ass with the hard wood. It was red and sore, and Julian would be feeling this for a while, but there wouldn’t be any permanent damage.

A muffled, almost pitiful sound came from Julian and Edwards found himself actually having to steel himself to go through with the next ten swats. He couldn’t back down though. He couldn’t let Julian think he could negotiate his way out of well earned punishments. 

He raised the paddle and brought it down firmly, a pained sniffle following the impact. He dished out the next nine similarly, firmly, but not nearly as hard as he had been swatting him before. Julian tensed after the tenth, seemingly having lost count and still expecting more. 

“We’re done.” Edwards told him, putting the paddle aside and pulling up the pyjamas bottoms to cover the tender skin. “I’ll expect you to be up and ready to work for twelve o’clock tomorrow.” 

Julian sniffed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands once Edwards freed his wrists. “Fine,” he mumbled, as if he thought he could disguise how miserable he sounded if he spoke quietly enough.

The older man let Julian up off of his lap, watching him with a slight twinge of sympathy. He knew that it was ridiculous. Julian deserved worse. A spanking, even a severe one, didn’t even skim the surface of what he’d earned. But he looked so goddamn young when he was snot-nosed and teary eyed. “Get a good night’s rest and don’t pull anything that stupid again.” 

Then, for a reason he chose not to dwell on, he gave his shoulder a small squeeze.


	4. Chapter 4

A week passed and, wonders of wonders, Julian behaved himself.

Of course, he wasn’t suddenly  _good_ , but he didn’t do anything actively  _bad._  There were still snide comments, eye rolling, and huffy complaints when he was asked to do something that required even a modicum of effort, but Edwards considered this a small victory. Shepard seemed impressed too and increased his salary, promising that it would rise again if he managed to make it to a month without serious incident.

Edwards actually began to find himself liking his job more than he had for years. Sure, it wasn’t what he’d dreamed for himself but it was significantly less stressful than it had been for a long, long time. 

Plus, Xiang was there.

The cute trainee chef that Edwards had become absolutely smitten with.

Julian’s newly improved behaviour meant that he could spend more time with him. They talked a lot and while their relationship was still nothing more than friendly, Edwards felt like he had a chance at something good.

He had found it a little difficult to tell whether Xiang was interested in more, like he was. With cheerful, flirtatious people like that, it was hard to know. He was also so gorgeous that Edwards had no doubts that he must get declarations of love nearly every time he walked down the street. 

Then, one afternoon gave him hope.

“Do you like it?” Xiang asked, sitting daintily on the kitchen countertop and watching as Edwards tried a slice of the cake that he had made. “I don’t know if it’s too sweet.”

“It’s really good.” Edwards assured him. He didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but the cake was undeniably delicious.

“I’m so glad.” The trainee chef sighed in relief, putting a hand to his chest. “I was thinking of letting Marcel try it too, but I got nervous. I wanted to let you try it first.”

Edwards tried to hold a neutral expression, because if he didn’t, he feared he might start grinning like a fool.

“I’ve never really asked, do you cook?” Xiang took the plate and fork once Edwards was finished and began to wash them at the sink. 

“Not really.” Edwards admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes were naturally drawn to the younger man’s back and they trailed from his narrow but well toned shoulders, to his slender waist, then down to the perky curve of his backside. He tried very hard not to stare.

“Do you have a partner or someone who cooks for you? Or do you eat out a lot?” Xiang shook the plate slightly so that some drips of water flew off of it before he placed it on the drying rack.

“No. To both of those questions.”

“Oh.” Xiang wiped his hands dry then turned back around to face the older man. The corners of his lips curved into a small, shy smile and he brushed a few stray strands of long black hair from his face. “That’s good.”

“Good?’ Edwards felt his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

“Mhm. It means I can come round and cook for you sometime.”

—

Julian wasn’t having as good a week as Edwards was. 

He hated having to reel himself in, hated having to watch what he said and did. He wasn’t used to it, and he didn’t want to become used to it either. But he really didn’t want to give Edwards another excuse to paddle him. He’d think of a way to get rid of him, then things would go back to how they had once been. However, until then, he would watch himself.

He would ‘behave’. 

The younger Lambrick grumbled irritably to himself as he wiped a dust cloth over the windows of the family library. Edwards had told him that his chore for that day was to dust it from top to bottom, and his new effort to ‘behave’ meant that he’d agreed. 

He’d never spent more than two minutes in the library before. He wasn’t interested in books. Especially not the stuffy, pretentious stuff his father liked to collect. Julian swore he probably hadn’t read half of them himself. They just looked good on the shelves.

Julian ran the back of his hand over his forehead and grunted in discomfort when he realised that he was sweating. The work wasn’t particularly taxing, not compared to the weeding that Edwards had made him do yesterday, but it was hot and the sun was shining brightly through the large windows. Julian had no tolerance for discomfort. Hot weather, cold weather, windy weather, snow, rain, hail… He hated it all. 

“Slacking off?” 

Julian frowned in confusion at the unexpected voice. He turned around to see who it was, about to snap at them to watch their mouth, when he saw who it was. The Chinese pretty boy who worked in the kitchens. Julian forgot his name, but he knew that Edwards had fallen hard for him. He’d seen the two of them talking, and while Edwards always seemed like he had a stick up his ass around him, when he was around the Chinese guy he was all smiles and flattery. The thought of the two of them together made Julian’s stomach turn. Not that he thought about it much.  
  
  “Kelly won’t be happy with you. You’ve been in here all day and the windows are still filthy.” He walked over to one of the tall windows and ran his fingertip over the glass. It squeaked and left a smudge. 

Julian stared in disbelief, but his disbelief quickly turned into anger.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He barged over and shoved Xiang away from the glass, standing in front of it to keep him from doing that again. He didn’t understand it yet, but he seemed different. 

Xiang moved a few steps backwards, but the shove barely made him stumble. He was slender, but he wasn’t frail. When Julian had shoved him away, he’d felt the toned muscle beneath his shirt. He wasn’t as large or as intimidating as Edwards was, but he wasn’t as much of a weakling as Julian had first guessed.

“Get the hell out!” He ordered. Despite Xiang seeming surprisingly strong, he was ready to do more than shove him if he tried anything.

“Make me.” 

Julian’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. One of the staff was flat out disobeying him. He was just a trainee chef, and he was acting like he had some sort of power over him? Maybe he thought because Edwards had the hots for him, he could do whatever he liked. Julian wouldn’t stand for that. 

He lunged at the other man, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and slamming him back against a wall. The frustration of having to be ‘good’ for a week added fuel to the fire and he grabbed a fistful of Xiang’s long black hair and pulled at it, using it to thump his head against the wall. Once, twice, then, before he could do it a third time, he was kicked hard in the gut.

He groaned loudly in pain and fell onto his knees, nearly throwing up onto the carpet, but he managed to keep it in. 

“Fuck…” He held onto his stomach, still doubled over and finding it impossible to get back up. It hurt even worse than when those two lowlives had knocked him about in the alleyway. How could some limp-wristed little fag kick that hard?

Suddenly, his head was forced up to look at the young cook. This time, he was the one whose hair was being pulled, and although his was quite a bit shorter than Xiang’s, it still hurt when it was grabbed like that.

“You’re so fucking dead-“

“Oh be quiet, you rich brat.” 

Julian’s mouth hung open slightly. Xiang’s entire demeanour had changed from when he was around Edwards, and truthfully, it was frightening. He barely seemed like the same guy. The guy who was giggly and flirtatious and maybe a little too forward with his affections. 

“I’m going to give you some instructions and you’re going to do them. Understand?” 

Julian blinked, still gaping speechlessly at the change. Xiang’s eyes narrowed and he pulled Julian up onto his feet by his hair, the younger Lambrick forced to comply if he wanted to keep his hair attached to his scalp.

“A-Ah! Shit! Let go!” He whined, his hands going up to try to pry Xiang’s off of him, but before he could, Xiang slapped them away then slapped his face.

“Ah!”

Xiang finally let him go, but the dynamic had changed. Julian wasn’t about to try to attack him again. 

“Are you listening?” Xiang asked him, folding his arms across his chest and observing the startled young man with a slight sneer.

Julian was. He couldn’t do anything  _but_  listen. Besides, he wanted to know what the hell this guy was playing at.

“I want $500,000. You’re going to get it for me.”

Julian’s mouth twitched slightly and he struggled to fight down the urge to try throttling Xiang again. “You’re crazy.” He muttered, his hands clenching into fists by his side. “My father hired you and he can fire you. You’ll be out on your ass by the end of the day. Hitting me just made it worse. You have no idea what you’ve done, you stupid fag.”

It was easy for Julian to imagine what he could have his father do to Xiang. He could see him strapped down, a hammer being used to shatter his bones. First his fingers, then his hands, then his arms-  
  
  “Your father won’t believe you.”

Or maybe the sjambok. Xiang’s back would be bloody by the time Bevans was finished with him. He’d probably cry like a baby.

“Of course he will!”  
  
  “Nope. Not when Kelly tells him that you’ve been bullying me.”

Julian’s eyes flashed bright with anger and he took a step forward, Xiang tilted his chin up, practically daring him to try attacking him again. 

“Why the hell would I be ‘bullying’ you?”

“You just called me a ‘stupid fag’. I don’t think it would be hard for me to convince Kelly that you’ve said other things to me as well. You have a bit of a history for saying nasty things.” Julian’s jaw tightened and he glared furiously. But he had a point. Edwards probably would take Xiang’s word over his, and his father would take Edwards’ word over his. 

“Fuck.” He cursed. 

It was just $500,000. He could get his hands on that. It was worth it to get this guy out of his face. That would buy him some time to think of a way to get rid of him before he came asking for more.

“More nasty words.” Xiang sniffed disapprovingly. Then he smirked, the expression making his pretty face look very devious. “I ought to have Kelly wash your mouth out with soap the next time he spanks you.”

With that, Julian’s sense left him and he saw red.

—

Edwards heard the clatter from the library and came running. When he opened the door, what he saw horrified him. Julian was on top of Xiang, screaming at him and hitting him with his fists as Xiang tried desperately to get him off. 

“Julian!” Edwards grabbed him by the back of his shirt and seized him off of Xiang. He put himself between the two of them, as a barrier, and helped the young cook up onto his feet. Thankfully, he had managed to ward off most of the blows, but Julian had still caught his lip and blood was dribbling down his chin. He was probably very shaken too. 

“Oh god. Shit. I’m so sorry. I should have been keeping an eye on him.” Before his usual sheepishness could hold him back, he hugged him. He had to. He had to let him know he was safe now because the poor guy was _shaking._

Behind them, Edwards could hear Julian scoff. 

“Seriously?” Julian remarked, as if he hadn’t just been caught beating Xiang like some sort of wild animal. “This is ridiculous! He started it!”

“Be quiet.” 

“He said this would happen! Just because you’ve got the hots for him you think I’m to blame for this!”

“You were on top of him! You were hitting him!” Edwards heard Xiang sob against his chest and his heart broke a little. He wanted to kiss him. Not just because he was falling for him but because he wanted to do something, anything to make him feel better. To make him feel safe. He wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want to work here anymore because of Julian.

“He hit me too! For fuck’s sake, he’s stronger than me! He must have been letting me win just so it looked bad when you came running!” 

“Why would I let you hit me?” Xiang whimpered, his voice slightly muffled against Edwards’ chest. “Kelly please, I really didn’t hit him. I couldn’t. It was just so sudden. I touched his arm and I guess he was startled by me being too familiar so he just-“

“You lying little-“

“ _Julian_!”

Edwards’ voice rose sharply and a glare came over his expressions that was severe enough to make the younger man flinch. He began to back off worriedly and he raised his hands up in an attempt to ward off the servant and keep a distance between them.

“I swear to God, he was the one who started it. I was just cleaning-“

“Why is the library still a mess then?”

Julian swallowed. Edwards shook his head. He couldn’t believe that Julian actually thought that lie would work. Xiang had been nothing but sweet and kind, but every time he had spoken to him in front of Julian, he’d seen the spoiled young man scoff and roll his eyes. Sometimes he even muttered hateful things underneath his breath when he thought that Edwards couldn’t hear him.

“Xiang, will you be okay if I leave you for a while? I’ve got to go deal with this.” His voice was softer when he spoke to Xiang, and he couldn’t help himself from wiping some of the blood off of the young man’s chin. His eyes were wet with tears, a few had rolled down onto his cheeks and had dampened Edwards’ shirt as he’d hugged him. He nodded his head and Edwards had to restrain himself from kissing him. He was just too sweet. “If you go see Rachel, she has first aid training and will take care of you.”

“Thank you.”

Julian attacking anyone was something Edwards wouldn’t stand for, but the fact it had been Xiang just made it feel all the worse.

Edwards helped him up onto his feet and ran a hand soothingly over his back before he left. Then, he turned to Julian. 

Without saying anything, he advanced on him, and as he had expected, the brat tried to run. But he wasn’t in the mood to play around, he seized him by the wrist and began to drag him towards the door. Part of him wanted to deal with him in the library, but the paddle was upstairs and Julian wasn’t getting off lightly.

He should have known that a week was pushing it. Julian just couldn’t control himself. He was sadistic and a bully and Edwards would make him sorry that he’d tried to hurt someone so dear to him.

“No, no! Let go! Look, listen to me!” 

Edwards didn’t listen to him. He began to march him up the stairs, ignoring the younger man’s protestations as they grew increasingly louder and frantic. They just made him angrier. Julian didn’t even have the dignity to accept that he’d done something wrong. 

“It wasn’t my fault! Really! I swear I didn’t start it!”

“Quiet.” He slammed Julian’s bedroom door shut and walked over to the bed with him still in his grip. It wasn’t difficult for him to keep a hold on him, even with all of his squirming around. “You know that you’re lying.”

“I’m not!” Julian insisted, a new desperation entering his voice when he saw Edwards pick up the paddle. “Don’t! Let me explain first!”

“I saw you hitting him.” He tugged the younger man over his lap, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him in place and locking one of his legs over Julian’s kicking ones. “He was crying.”

Julian whined in frustration and wriggled violently over Edwards’ lap, he couldn’t do much else at this point. “He’s a liar! He has you wrapped around his fucking finger just because you want to bang him-  _Ah_!”

—

Xiang stood outside of Julian’s room, listening with great amusement to every crack of the paddle and subsequent cry from Julian. Edwards was really giving it to him and it pleased Xiang to know just how much Edwards had fallen for his little teary act. 

It seemed like he was kind of the stern, brooding type to most, but clearly he had a soft spot for him. He probably liked having someone to protect. Someone who would ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at him coming to their defence. Xiang was more than happy to ‘ooh and ‘aah’ if it meant having Edwards on his side. Without him, it would be difficult to get Julian to pay up. And he needed the money.

“Oh no, don’t! Please don’t!”

Xiang put a hand over his mouth so that a giggle wouldn’t escape. The sounds of the swats had paused, so he deduced that Edwards must be taking down his pants. When they restarted, the sound was sharper, louder, and it confirmed his suspicions. 

—

Julian sobbed into the crook of his arm, his back trembling as he tried (and failed) to stifle some of the pathetic little noises he kept making. Edwards had finally stopped, but he hadn’t pulled his pants up yet and Julian was worried that he would continue if he said the wrong thing. He hated the thought of admitting to something he hadn’t done, but even that was preferable to Edwards spanking him again.

“I’m going to give you ten minutes to calm down. Then, I’m going to come back and we’re going to find Xiang. You’ll apologise to him and you’ll never do anything like this again.” 

Julian’s face was already hot and sweaty from crying but it burned even more at the idea of having to apologise to him. He huffed tearfully against his arm, forcing himself to agree. “Yes…” He mumbled, the word barely audible.

That seemed to satisfy Edwards, because he pulled up his pants and moved out from underneath him. Unlike last time, there was no squeeze to the shoulder or brief rub on his back, and while Julian hadn’t so much  _appreciated_ them before, the absence of them upset him for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.

The door clicked shut as Edwards left, then a few moments later, it clicked open again.

He sniffed miserably and didn’t bother to move and see who it was. He thought it was just Edwards, but a soft giggle from the doorway made him realise it wasn’t. 

“Are all rich kids such crybabies?” 

Julian shifted on the bed, not quite sitting, but turning enough that he could see his unwanted guest. He glared at him through a mist of tears and fought back the urge to pounce on him again. Xiang seemed to be able to tell what he wanted to do and smiled with infuriating sweetness. It was the same sort of innocent smile he gave Edwards.

“What do you want?” Julian demanded, trying not to cringe when he heard how hoarse and shaky his voice sounded.

Xiang’s smile widened and became meaner. “I already told you. I want $500,000. But… Since you hit me… I’m raising the price to $600,000.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is largely Julian-centric so expect lots of objectionable content. He’s not a nice guy. I don’t share or condone his views.

$600,000 was a lot of money to get ahold of without attracting attention. Even for Julian. However, the problem wasn’t getting the money, it was getting it and not getting interrogated about it later. 

He tried to think of a solution as he did his chores the next day, but the heaviness of the work made it difficult to concentrate. Dusting the library was heaven compared to mowing the lawn in the heat of summer. He felt like he was melting, but Edwards was unsympathetic. 

“Take your shirt off then.” The servant suggested with a shrug. 

Julian huffed. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?” He muttered bitterly, speaking just loud enough for Edwards to hear. 

The older man snorted derisively, not even bothering to refute that remark and Julian felt a bit insulted. He might not have much muscle, but it wasn’t like he was in  _bad_ shape. His father had warned him that might change when he got a bit older if he didn’t improve his diet and take up a more active lifestyle. His metabolism wouldn’t remain at its current rate forever. Julian didn’t care. Shepard had sighed and pressed the issue no further, and soon after Julian had worked out why the thought of him becoming overweight bothered him. It would hurt his pride to have a son who was a fat slob. It almost made him want to make sure he became massive just to annoy him.

Julian pushed the lawn mower forward a few more paces, grunting in effort, then he kicked it into off mode. He saw Edwards frown but before he could say anything, Julian peeled off his t-shirt and threw it aside. The sweaty garment landed on the ground next to his cruel taskmaster who rolled his eyes. 

“Put it in the laundry.” He ordered, and Julian would have refused if he hadn’t wanted an excuse for a break. As he reached down the pick up his shirt, Edwards surprised him. “Get yourself a drink too. Your father would have me murdered if you got heatstroke.”

Somehow Julian found that hard to believe. 

“Fine.” He replied, the idea of saying ‘thank you’ not even occurring to him. “I was going to get a drink on my way back anyway.” 

It was still his house after all. He could get a drink without needing permission.

Edwards narrowed his eyes slightly and Julian headed into the house, a little faster than he probably would have if not for that look.

—

Julian took his time going back. He knew that if he took too long, Edwards would come fetch him and that he wouldn’t be pleased with him when he did. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t stall a little. 

He filled up a glass in the kitchen with juice and took a packet of chips from one of the cupboards, ignoring the kitchen staff who all looked a little surprised at seeing the their employer’s son come into their workplace sweaty and shirtless and looking for chips. 

He ate the chips quickly in the hallway and drained his glass in one long swig. When he was finished, he put the empty glass and packet of chips on a small table and was about to head back into the garden, when he felt a cool, hand run up the bare skin of his back. Before he could stop himself, he yelped and turned around sharply on his heel.

“What the hell-“

“Why are you walking around without a shirt on?” It was Xiang, because of course it was. Julian almost punched him. He didn’t really like being touched at the best of times, but he  _definitely_  didn’t want Xiang touching him. Especially not like that.

“It’s not like you have much to show off.” The young cook added, running his eyes over Julian’s bare torso with an unimpressed look on his face. 

“It’s not to impress you.” Julian retorted, making a start to go back into the garden because even Edwards and manual labour was better than Xiang. 

However, Xiang had other ideas.

He stepped in front of Julian, blocking his path to the door. When Julian tried to sidestep him, he would move so that he remained in the way. After a couple of attempts to leave, Julian growled in frustration and reached out to shove Xiang away, but his wrist was caught in his grasp and with impressive force, Xiang pushed his back into the wall.

“What the hell are you doing?” Julian demanded, growing uncomfortable at being pressed against the wall by the other man. He was standing way too close to him and had a sly smile on his face. “Let me go.” 

Xiang didn’t. He stepped in closer, the white, slightly coarse fabric of his apron brushing against Julian’s skin. 

“Let go.” Julian said again, more quietly. He wanted to shout, but he remembered Edwards in the garden. He didn’t want him to see them like this. He knew what conclusion he’d come to and the idea turned his stomach. He shifted against the flat surface of the wall, the action caused him extra discomfort thanks to Edwards punishing him the day before, but it was all he could do to try to escape.

“Have you got my money yet?” Xiang asked him, his voice deceptively soft. When they were this close, Julian couldn’t help but notice how smooth and clear his skin was. How long his eyelashes were. How his hair smelled fresh, like he had just stepped out of a shower despite the fact he must have been working in the steamy kitchen all afternoon.

“I need more time.” He told him, swallowing to try to alleviate how dry his throat suddenly felt.

“How much more time?”   
  
“A few weeks.” Julian tried. Xiang snorted. 

“No.” He said firmly. His eyes seemed to harden behind those pretty long lashes and Julian found himself shivering slightly. He told himself that it was just because of the sweat cooling down on his skin. Xiang noticed, and smirked.

“If you give me a kiss, I’ll give you until the end of Thursday.”

It was Monday.

“I’m not kissing you.” Julian insisted, his voice starting to shake in an effort to resist kicking Xiang in the nuts. He would have, he  _wanted_ to, but Edwards would come running and he really couldn’t stand another punishment so soon.

Xiang didn’t look angry anymore, he looked amused. His lips curved into a smile that might have been charming in another setting. 

“I’ll make it easier for you. I’ll kiss you first.” 

Julian’s eyes widened in horror but before he could protest, Xiang planted a kiss, a kiss that had no right to be as tender as it was, on his lips. Julian screwed up his face, squirming against the wall with a frustrated whimper escaping and vibrating into the other man’s mouth. Xiang was undeterred, the kiss lasted a few more torturous seconds, before he parted from Julian’s lips.

But he wasn’t done, he dipped his head down, and Julian felt the warm wetness of Xiang’s soft lips on the side of his throat. 

“Ah!” He gasped, arched his back, ashamed of what that did to him.

He hadn’t been kissed there before, but it turned out that he liked it. Xiang kissed him again and again on the neck, clever enough to not leave any marks, but they were firm enough to make the blond pant and blush and eventually, he even stopped asking him to stop.

After what felt like hours, but was actually less than two minutes, the kisses stopped. 

“You have until Thursday to get the money. Don’t disappoint me.” Xiang purred, his breath tickling the wet patches he’d left on the skin of Julian’s neck. 

—

Julian flipped open his Nintendo 3DS and scrolled through the new releases available on the eShop. He needed something to take his mind off of what had happened that afternoon, he needed something mind numbing and distracting. He didn’t want to think about how Xiang had made him feel. 

He had hated it at first. The invasive closeness, the sneer on the young cook’s face, the powerlessness… He told himself over and over again that he had hated it.

“Damn it.” He muttered in frustration, snapping the console over with irritated resignation.  

He was still bruised from the paddle, but he endured it so he could sit with his back resting against the headboard of his bed. He unbuckled his belt and undid his pants, tugging them and his boxers downwards so they pooled around his knees. He was already half hard and only a few moments of stroking were needed to coax his cock into becoming fully erect.

He bit on his bottom lip, breathing harshly through his nose as pleasure built up steadily inside of him. The movements of his wrist were fast and impatient, his hips rolled upwards and moved his cock further into his hand. 

He tried to think of Iris. Her writhing beneath him. Her crying out in protest and fear. He was still angry at her. He was angry he had been interrupted. He was angry she’d won the game. She didn’t deserve a cent of his family’s money. She deserved to be fucked by him. He wanted to come to the thought of that, but despite his best attempts to conjure up images of him raping her, he remembered the pain when she’d bitten his hand. The pain of her stabbing an icepick into his thigh. 

“Fuck.”

It wasn’t fair. 

Why was it so much easier for him to imagine fucking Xiang than Iris?

He could imagine grabbing him, bending him over that small table in the hallway and pulling down his pants and underwear. He’d not be gentle. He wouldn’t need to be because Xiang was such a slut that he’d be used to it. 

Edwards was probably already fucking him.

He couldn’t imagine fucking Edwards. But… He could imagine lying over his lap, with Edwards’ hand running over the skin of his ass. The skin would be bruised and sore, like it was now, and one of his fingers would slip between the cleft of his ass and-

“Ah!” 

For an intense few seconds, the disgust he felt at himself for thinking about himself with Xiang and Edwards disappeared and his mind and body were engulfed in pleasure. But then it quickly faded away, and before he had even caught his breath he found himself hating them all the more for making him feel this way.

Something was wrong with him. It was probably because of the arrangement his father had made with Edwards. He had just been spending too much time around that fag. He simply needed to get laid (by a woman, of course) and that would be that. He’d be normal again.

—

 _Horny?  
__  
What you up to? You horny?  
__  
Face pic?  
  
Whats up? U got a pic?  
__  
I’m 8 inches  
_  
_You horny?_

As Julian scrolled through the endless photos of athletic looking torsos and intimidatingly large penises, he found himself feeling a bit jealous of gay guys. They had the nerve to bitch about not having equal rights, when clearly they had it best. With women, you were expected to romance them, to make smalltalk, to tell them how they looked nice and spend time, effort, and money all to even get a chance of bedding one. Even then there was no guarantee. Clearly, if you were a fag all you needed to do was download an app, take a picture of your cock (or your torso), and wait for the offers to roll in. It didn’t matter if you had the social skills of a deranged, illiterate, sex-starved hermit, as long as you had a six pack or failing that, a functioning cock, you could find someone. 

He had downloaded the app out of morbid curiosity at first, expecting to be disgusted and to delete it within a couple of minutes. Some of the things people wanted to do _were_  disgusting, but he was surprised to discover that the most overpowering emotion he felt towards the profiles that messaged him was envy. 

He wondered if Edwards had this app. Or if Xiang did. 

_You horny?_

Julian had lost count of how many times he’d been asked that since he’d activated his account, but he paused when he saw that this guy actually had a photo of his face for his profile picture. 

He wasn’t bad looking. He looked Chinese, like Xiang, but he wasn’t as pretty. He was more rugged, more tough. 

_Yeah. You?_

Julian closed the chat. He shouldn’t have replied. He should stop this and go out to a club instead. He hated going out, but if he flashed enough cash when he was there, he might be able to snag a decent looking woman by the end of the night.

His phone buzzed in his hand.

“Shit.”

_Always. ;)_

He supposed that if he fucked this one guy, it would get it out of his system. He had been thinking he needed a woman to get these weird feelings out of his head, but if he slept with a guy, he’d find out for sure how gross it was. Then that would be that. 

_Want to meet?_

There was no point in wasting time with meaningless chitchat. 

_Face pic first._

Julian sighed. He minimised the app and clicked on his camera. He took a quick photo of his face without bothering to smile. He checked that he hadn’t blinked and that it wasn’t blurry, then sent it to ‘Asianguy69’. 

It was only after he sent it that Julian began to worry that sending a photo of his face had been a bad idea. He tried clicking on the photo to delete it, but Asianguy69 was already typing a response.

He was taking a while.

Julian bristled at that. Was his photo not good enough for him? A guy pathetic enough to be looking for a quick fucking on a sleazy mobile app should be happy with what he was offered.

He didn’t realise the irony of that thought.

_Cute. Yh cool. Let’s meet._

Julian didn’t think he liked being called cute.

Asianguy69 sent him the address of a bar he hadn’t heard of, and it occurred to him that was because it was probably a gay bar. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to hang around there for long. He’d rather just go to his apartment.

_Ok. See you soon._

Julian minimised the chat window and closed the app over. He put his phone on his nightstand and ran his hands over his face. This was crazy.

—

“Hey, where’s the brat?” Edwards hadn’t been able to find him in his bedroom or in the TV room, and those were the two rooms he was nearly always in.

“He went out. Looks like you finally have the night off, mister.” Xiang replied, hanging up his apron and then taking out his ponytail so that his long black hair hung loose around his shoulders. He was finishing up for the night too.

“Huh.” Edwards was surprised. Julian rarely left the house. He didn’t seem to have friends and he didn’t seem to have any desire to go out and make them. “Any idea where to?”

“You shouldn’t worry about him.” Xiang smiled, putting a hand on his arm. He was teasing a bit, and Edwards scoffed in response.

“I’m not worried, I’m just surprised.” He said, his heart fluttering a little at the touch. 

“Good. Then you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the dinner I make for you tonight.”

“You’re… You’re serious?” Edwards half expected Xiang to laugh and say it was a joke. The younger man probably already had plans. Those plans were probably with someone younger than him, someone more good looking, more kind and charming and funny-  
  
  “Of course I’m serious.” Xiang laughed. “I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.”

“Oh.” He was slightly stunned. Happy, but stunned. 

Julian had done him a favour in breaking habit and going out for the night. He might even have to thank him when he next saw him.

Actually no, he wouldn’t be thanking him.

“That sounds… Really nice.”

“Great.” Xiang beamed. “Get your coat and let’s go.”

—

The night hadn’t gone quite how Julian had expected. He’d put ‘top’ on his profile, after all, it wasn’t like he was  _really_  gay. He was just experimenting. He was proving that it wasn’t for him.

He hadn’t ended up ‘topping’. 

It turned out ‘Asianguy69’ was actually called Liam and despite describing himself as ‘vers’ on his profile, he admitted that he gravitated more towards being on top.

“Especially with guys like you.” He’d said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Julian challenged, quickly becoming hostile. 

“Hey, relax. It’s a compliment. I just meant that skinny white guys like you are cute when you’re taking cock.”

Julian hadn’t exactly been flattered by that, but one thing had led to another and he was lying on his back, with his legs on Liam’s shoulders and moaning as he thrust his cock deep into his ass. 

It was hard and fast and Julian would have preferred if he had been a little more gentle, but he had felt too self conscious to ask him to slow down. He didn’t want to seem like a wimp. 

However, it wasn’t quite the conclusively gross experience that Julian had thought it would be. He’d thought at the end of the night, he’d delete the app and move on. Instead, he decided that there was no harm in keeping it… For a little while.

“You want to stay the night?” Liam asked him afterwards, and Julian almost said yes. He was tired and achey, and going home felt like an enormous tsk when all he really wanted to do was sleep. But his father would notice if he was out all night and he’d probably be suspicious. The last thing he needed was him asking questions about where he’d been. 

“Nah, I should go.” Julian pulled on his pants and slipped his phone into one of his pockets. 

“Fair enough.” Liam stood up and picked Julian’s jacket up from the back of a chair. He handed it to him. Julian wasn’t sure why he bothered, he was perfectly capable of doing that himself. 

“Thanks.” He said anyway, taking it from him and putting it on.

“We should do that again sometime.”

Julian meant to say no. He didn’t want to start a ‘thing’ with anyone. Especially not with some random guy he’d met on a gay hookup app, but that wasn’t what he said. Instead he said, “Yeah, that could be fun.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys. 
> 
> Usual warnings apply for Julian being a serious piece of work.

Edwards couldn’t remember the last time he had had a more pleasant evening. Or a more romantic one. Heck, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had a date. 

Xiang had insisted that they stop off at a Chinese supermarket that was near Edwards’ apartment. The older man had to admit that he had never been in it, or anywhere like it, before. He knew that he wasn’t very cultured. He had never been abroad and he had never been adventurous when it came to food. It wasn’t that he was fussy, if you put something in front of him, he’d eat it, but he had become used to living off of TV dinners and instant ramen. It was only his exercise that kept his body in good shape. When he was a boxer, he had been more careful with his diet, but working long hours at the Lambrick household had taken its toll on his patience for cooking nutritious and healthy meals for one.

Xiang bought a basket full of ingredients that he didn’t recognise half of and announced that they would make dumplings together. Edwards predicted that it would be a disaster. However, it wasn’t. It was fine. More than fine, it was nice.

Xiang was very patient and when Edwards was clumsy with stuffing the ingredients into the dumpling wrapper, he would put his slender hands over his and guide him. They ate them while watching a terrible romantic movie that was on TV, and by the end of it, Xiang had rested his head on Edwards’ shoulder and was peacefully dozing.

“Are you tired?” He felt his cheeks heat up when Xiang sighed softly and shifted against his bicep. He was probably just trying to get comfortable, but it felt nice all the same. “You could stay the night, if you like. Don’t worry, I would sleep on the couch.”

He was a little annoyed at himself for adding the last part, but he did it before he could help himself. Despite the fact he _wanted_ to sleep beside Xiang, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would go to bed with someone on the first date. He didn’t want to offend him or screw up.

“It’s okay. I’ll go home.” Xiang made a move to sit up, but Edwards found himself putting a hand on the other man’s arm. Gently, but insistently. 

“I don’t know if I like the idea of you going home when you’re half asleep. You might get hurt.” Xiang was a grown man, but Edwards couldn’t help but feel protective over him. He had always been like that when it came to people he was attracted to. It had gotten him into trouble before. He would be over zealous at times and it could drive people away, or someone would insult his partner and they’d end up flat on their back with a bloody lip. 

“I don’t want to be any trouble, but a bed would be nice.” 

Edwards was relieved he said yes. That he wasn’t annoyed at him for suggesting it.

“Great. I mean, good. I’ll change the bedsheets and bring a blanket through here for me. Do you want anything before we turn in?” He stood up from the couch and picked up the large plate that had once been covered in homemade dumplings. He took it into the kitchen and placed it in the sink. “Maybe some milk or something?”

“No, thank you. I should just go to bed. I have to be up early to make the Lambricks breakfast.” Xiang stood up too, and stretched. As he did, the bottom of his shirt rose up and exposed a section of his stomach. Edwards tried not to stare. 

—

The next day, Julian woke up in his bed and believed for a few moments that everything that had happened the previous night had been a dream. But then his ass ached when he rolled onto his back and he was given a painful reminder that no, it had not been a dream.

“Fuck.” He rubbed a hand over his face and groaned. He moved back onto his stomach. 

He felt like ever since the last game, when that bitch had stabbed him in the leg, his life had been turned upside down. Edwards had been assigned to be his personal slavedriver and he had spent the previous night getting fucked up the ass by some Chinese guy he had met on a gay hookup app. 

Not to mention he had to get his hands on $600,000 by Thursday.

“Fuck.” He repeated, with more vigour.

It wasn’t fair. 

He wished that things could go back to how they had been before all of these changes. Before the last game. Things had been simpler then.

His phone buzzed. He was tempted to ignore it, because he had an idea who it would be. When it buzzed a second time, and Julian picked it up, he saw that he had been right. 

He opened up the message and was greeted by a photograph of a rather impressive erect cock. He recognised who it belonged to. 

The text that accompanied it read:

_Thinking of u, blondie. Meet up again soon? x_

Julian threw his phone across the room.

—

“You’re slacking off.” 

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” 

Julian had had enough. He wasn't in the mood for this today. Or any day. He threw the mop to the ground and spun round to start arguing with Edwards. However, before he could even get a word out, Edwards grabbed him by the wrist and spun him back around again, so he was facing away from him, and he landed a sharp swat onto the seat of the younger man’s pants. He was wearing jeans, but it still stung.

“Ah!” Julian yelped and tried to seize his arm away, but Edwards held firm and gave him another, harder, smack. “Ow! _Hey_!”

Edwards let him go and pointed to the mop. “Pick it up and get back to work, before I go fetch the paddle.”

Julian rubbed at his stinging ass, his expression bitter. He hated this. Similar thoughts to those he had had in his bedroom that morning began to swirl in his head. Everything was changing in his life, and he didn’t like it. Not. One. Bit.

He glared at the mop that he had thrown down, considering trying to bash Edwards across the skull with it, when he suddenly had an idea. 

His life was changing. He was sick of living in this house and sick of living under his father’s new ridiculous rules and regulations. He needed money.

Julian picked up the mop and Edwards’ raised an eyebrow. He probably hadn’t been expecting Julian to be so cooperative.

Julian smiled to himself. He was a genius.

—

“Say that again.” Shepard looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He probably couldn’t. 

“I want to get my own place.” Julian repeated, his hands stuffed in his pockets and a smug smile on his face. “And I want to move out by Thursday. I’m a grown up now, dad. I’ve got to try making my own way in the world.”

“This is very sudden.” His father looked at him skeptically. “What brought this on?”

Julian shrugged.

“Why Thursday?”

Julian shrugged again. 

“There’s no point in wasting time. My mind’s made up.”

“You’ve always seemed happy enough to live here. This is the family home. I had thought you would stay here until you got married.” Julian shrugged a third time and Shepard grew more annoyed. “Would you stop that? It’s a most irritating, juvenile gesture.”

Julian would have gotten angry at any other time, but he was feeling far too pleased with himself, so instead he simply snorted in amusement.

There was a moment of silence where neither Lambrick spoke and Shepard yielded first.

“You’re really not going to give me any more information than that?” There was a pause and Julian didn’t say anything. Shepard sighed. “I would have thought I at least deserved some sort of explanation.”

“Well, _I_ would have thought you’d be happy to see the back of me. You’re always nagging me, and you got Edwards to beat me, and-“

“Julian. You know that I’d miss you.” 

Julian didn’t think that was true and the way Shepard had said it wasn’t wholly convincing. He said it like he _had_ to say it, because Julian was his only son, and his heir, and he was duty bound to love him. 

He shrugged, deliberately, and said, “I’m sorry pops but I have to do this. I want to grow up. I want to see the world.”

Shepard rolled his eyes and Julian smirked. He was being a bit hammy by this point, and he knew it, but it was kind of fun. It certainly exasperated his father. 

“How much do you need?” Shepard asked, seeming to sink into his seat. Julian was a little surprised he had given in so quickly. Usually he got tired of arguments and discussions before his father did. But he guessed that it might be because he didn’t really believe Julian would last more than a couple of weeks on his own before he got bored and frustrated and came back. 

“A few million.”

“I’ll transfer it to your account.” Shepard replied, as if it was nothing. However, he said his next words with far more gravitas. His looked solemn and his mouth a tight, horizontal line across his face. “Don’t cause too much trouble, Julian. You may be moving out, but you’re still my son, and you’re still a Lambrick. You have a name to preserve.”

Julian wasn’t listening.

He didn’t give a crap about the Lambrick name. But he did care about outsmarting Xiang and getting away from Edwards.

—

Edwards heard about Julian’s plan to move out just minutes after he had left his father’s study. He didn’t believe it at first, because Julian was a spoiled brat, and a lazy one at that. He’d never shown any motivation to become more independent. 

Of course, Edwards was suspicious, and from Shepard’s expression, he was too.

“I want you to go with him. He’s clearly up to something, and I want you to find out what.” He told Edwards solemnly. 

“Perhaps he wants more freedom, sir.” Edwards didn’t believe that was true, but he didn’t want to go with Julian. Regardless of whether he was up to something or not, Edwards would be glad to see the back of him. 

Shepard scoffed, “I know my son well enough to know when he’s hiding something from me. Julian is devious, but a poor liar. It’s not a very fortunate combination for him, but it’s useful for me.”

Edwards’ jaw tightened a little bit and he forced himself to nod in agreement. 

“As you wish, sir.”

Once he was dismissed, he went straight to the kitchen to talk to Xiang. He was cleaning some dishes, daydreaming, and he didn’t seem to notice Edwards at first. Edwards didn’t announce himself straight away, but watched him for a few moments. 

He felt incredibly fortunate that someone as pretty and as talented as Xiang was interested in him. 

He didn’t quite understand why. 

He didn’t think he was bad looking, but he wouldn’t flatter himself by saying he was handsome either. Perhaps he’d been handsome once, when he had been in his prime, but now he had a few too many strands of grey in his hair and signs of age around his eyes and forehead. 

Xiang on the other hand was young, although Edwards didn’t know how young exactly, and he was spritely and energetic and had the brightest smile that the older man had ever seen. 

He was incredibly elegant too, and Edwards had appreciated that when Xiang had stayed over at his apartment the previous night. Every movement he made seemed to flow in the most perfect, graceful way. Even when he had bumped into him on their first meeting and Xiang had fallen over, he had somehow managed to make even that seem elegant. 

Edwards cleared his throat.

“Oh!” Xiang dropped the plate into the sink, and it smashed. This didn’t effect Edwards’ musings on how graceful he was. “I’m sorry, I was a thousand miles away.”

He wiped his hands on his apron and then swept a few stray strands of black hair behind his ears. “Is something wrong? You look worried about something.”

“Julian is moving out.” Edwards told him, watching as Xiang’s brow furrowed in confusion. 

“I would have thought that would be a good thing for you. Less work.”

“Shepard is convinced that he’s up to something, and I think so too. He’s asked me to go with him.”

“Julian won’t like that.” Xiang replied, and Edwards sighed.

“I have to admit that I’m not looking forward to the headache of telling him about his father’s wishes. I can handle him, but he’s exhausting.”

“I don’t suppose you can refuse?” He asked.

“No. I don’t think so.”

Xiang chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully for several seconds and then put a hand on Edwards’ arm. He squeezed it softly. “Don’t worry. It will be fine. I don’t think Julian will last in his own place for more than a week. He will come back and things will be as they were before.”

Edwards smiled, although he didn’t feel much like it. “I hope you’re right.”

—

Julian moved out on Thursday. Sort of.

He left a lot of his stuff behind, but he took the essentials. Namely, his video games and consoles. The apartment had everything else he needed.

The goodbyes weren’t emotional, because Shepard still believed he would come back within a month. 

The first time Edwards entered the penthouse, he was filled with a quiet, seething resentment. 

He didn’t know much about interior design, and he had never cared about living somewhere high end and flashy, but the unfairness that Julian could simply move into such a gorgeous place at such incredible short notice, on a _whim,_ was enough to make him want to smack him for being so unbelievably spoiled. 

Julian walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it. He gestured to the boxes that had been left, unpacked, at the door. 

“Plug in my PS4, and get me a drink too.” He kicked off his shoes onto the polished wooden floor. “I can’t believe the fucking elevator was broken on my first day here. It better be fixed by tomorrow.”

Edwards _really_ wanted to smack him. 

“You seem to be forgetting that I’m not your servant. I’m here because your father asked me to keep an eye on you.” He folded his arms across his chest and allowed himself a small amount of satisfaction at seeing Julian scowl. “You’ll be interested to hear that I remembered to pack the paddle, _sir_.”

—

His first night away from home, and Julian felt slightly strange. He hadn’t expected that. He’d spent nights away from home before, loads, but always with his father in the same house and always with a flock of servants to take care of his every whim. Edwards was sleeping next door, but it wasn’t the same. As the man himself had said earlier, he wasn’t his servant.

He wouldn’t have described the feeling as homesickness, but it was close to it. The penthouse wasn’t his home, not really. It was just a place he had bought to cover his tracks a bit so he could give Xiang his damn money. 

Xiang had been careful. He made Julian give him the money in cash so that there wouldn’t be any digital trace of their transaction. His expression when Julian had handed over the bag had really aggravated him. He wanted to punch it clean off of his stupid, pretty face. But he couldn’t. A black eye would make _him_ out to be the bad guy. Besides, Julian had learned the hard way that Xiang was stronger than he looked. He might not even be able to hit him.

Despite his immediate concern being over, Julian couldn’t wholly relax. He was aware of a problem. He had seen enough movies to know that if you gave someone like Xiang money, they would come back again, and again, looking for _more._ So he needed to find a way to get rid of him. 

Killing him was a solution, but a complicated one. For starters, he really knew nothing about his would-be victim. He didn’t know if he had family that would come looking for him, and even if he didn’t, Edwards would wonder where he had went. Those two were clearly fucking. Or at least, Edwards wanted them to be.

His phone buzzed and Julian jumped slightly. He touched the screen and saw that it was from Liam.

Julian hadn’t replied to his last message, but he’d forgotten to block his number. However, the guy clearly had nothing better to do than bother him. It was kind of pathetic. He had been fun, sort of, and personable, but Julian wasn't interested in getting to know him.

Since he wasn’t planning on replying to it anyway, Julian didn’t even look at it before deleting it. Then, he paused. For the second time that week, he had a genius idea.

_Hi. I’ve been busy recently but we should meet soon. Got a new place. Come round?_

He couldn’t kill Xiang himself, even though he’d like that, but he could get someone else to do it for him. Liam was a tough looking guy, it wouldn’t surprise Julian if he had a criminal record. Plus he was Chinese. Julian was sure that the cops would just think it was some sort of Triad thing gone wrong. Or a gay thing. Or both.

It was so simple, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before.

About two minutes later, Liam replied.

_Awesome! When suits? x_

Julian grinned, his face illuminated by his phone’s bright backlight. 

_Tomorrow? I’m free all day._

Another minute, and Liam replied again. His speed just confirmed to Julian that the guy was desperate. 

_I’m working daytime. Send me the address & I’ll come after work._

Julian did. He typed it in so fast his fingers slipped slightly and he had to go back and fix a couple of typos. He was excited. 

Moving out had growing up was a ruse, he certainly hadn’t meant any of what he had said to his father about that. However, as he sent his address to Liam, he actually did feel a sense of pride. He was proud of his cleverness, of figuring out a way out of his situation all by himself. His father had always taken care of these sorts of things for him in the past. While it wasn’t _technically_ fixed yet, it would be. He hadn’t actually talked to Liam about doing it, but he was confident that he could get him to agree to get rid of Xiang. 

He’d been to the guy’s apartment. He was clearly poor. He’d just throw a little money at him and he would do whatever he wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me forever to update. This chapter contains some mild drug use. (Julian is a lightweight.)

Liam arrived at about eight. He brought pizza with him. 

“Hey.” 

He was better looking than Julian remembered him, even though he seemed a little exhausted. He didn't know what he worked as, but he supposed it was probably some sort of manual labour if he was sweating like that. 

“Hey, come in.” Julian stepped aside and let Liam in. He could tell that he was impressed by what he saw. 

“Dude, you never said you were rich. This place is incredible.” 

Julian shrugged nonchalantly, although he was pleased that Liam was impressed. It bode well for his plan. 

“It's alright.” He padded over to the fridge, barefoot, and opened it. “What do you want to drink?”

“Uh, whatever you’ve got will be fine.” Liam was standing in the middle of the room, far away from any furniture, and just gawping. It was as if he was afraid to sit down or touch anything. 

He’d seemed kind of sure of himself when Julian had last met him,but now he was nervous. Julian smirked secretly to himself.

“I can order something else up from the front desk if you want something specific.” He offered, deliberately trying to impress him.

“I’ll have what you're having. Shit, this place is not what I expected.” 

Julian picked up a six-pack of beer and made his way over to the couch. He sat cross-legged on it. “What were you expecting?” 

“Not this.”

With a little prompting, Liam sat on the couch and took a beer. He took a while to relax, but after some pizza and a couple of beers, he started to loosen up a bit. Julian let him check out his TV, and he briefly entertained the notion of playing a game with him. He hadn't really done that much before. Whenever he had done multiplayer, it had always been online. But Liam seemed happy enough to flick through the channels, so he ended up not asking him.

Julian was impatient to tell him about his plan, but he couldn't simply blurt it out. He had to test the waters first.

Liam landed on a show about America’s 'toughest prisons’. 

“It would be pretty crazy to be locked up somewhere like that. I’d probably get stabbed.” 

Liam laughed a little. “You’d be fine, a rich kid like you wouldn't ever get put somewhere like that.”

“You think?”

“No way. Well, not unless you’d killed like a dozen people. But even then.” 

Julian laughed. He supposed, technically, he hadn't. But he had witnessed far more deaths than he could remember.

“Yeah. I guess I could get a good lawyer or something. You on the other hand…” He teased, and Liam smirked a little.

“Maybe I’d ask my rich buddy to bail me out.”

It took Julian a second to realise he meant him. 

“I think I could convince him to…”

Before Julian could work up the self-control to get Liam to stop, the other man was on top of him. He was pinned to the couch, wrists above his head, and Liam was kissing him. They were both a little drunk and that, coupled with Liam grinding against him, made Julian's plan to talk to him about killing Xiang go straight out the window for a little while.

Liam had initially just been an experiment. Something to convince Julian that he was one-hundred percent heterosexual. Needless to say, things hadn't worked out that way. 

He still didn't think he was a fag like Edwards, and certainly not like Xiang, but Liam was pretty hot. He knew what he was doing. He was an exception to the rule, and he wasn't actually in love with him so it didn't properly count. 

It wasn't as if he would start dating him, or holding hands with him, or cuddling up with him after a long day. That stuff was pure faggotry,this was just casual sex that happened to be with another guy…

\--

It was Edwards’ first night off since Julian had moved into the penthouse. He had wanted to spend some time with Xiang, since it felt like a while since he had gotten to be alone with him.

He didn't know what they were to each other at this point. He hadn't even kissed him, but he supposed they were dating. Sort of.

Whatever it was, it was nice.

He didn't think anything of it when Xiang’s phone was turned off. He was probably at work. Edwards left a message.

“Hey. I just got off work and… Well, if you are free later on it’d be great to hear from you.” He paused, then he decided it was best to hang up now before he said something stupid and ended up embarrassing himself. 

Almost as soon as he hung up, he got a call. Unfortunately it wasn't from Xiang, it was from Mara.

“Hi there. Long time no speak, stranger.” She sounded as chipper as ever. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry. It's just work, you know?” 

“That's okay. I thought as much. You free anytime soon? We’re overdue a catch-up.”

Edwards hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see her, but what if Xiang called him back? 

“Actually, I have tonight off if you want to-”

“Great. The usual place?” She seemed especially eager, she probably had some exciting news she wanted to tell him. 

“Sure. I’ll be there in an hour.” 

He supposed this was fine. If Xiang did reply to his message, he could always join them. 

\--

When he'd hooked up with Liam at his place, Julian had left shortly after sex. However, Liam didn't seem as eager to leave. Julian didn't mind. After all, he still had to talk to him about Xiang.

“You live here all by yourself?” Liam had his arm wrapped around him, and Julian didn't mind it as much as he thought he would. Before he realised it, he was resting his head against the other man's shoulder. 

“Yeah. Well, there's Edwards. Although he doesn't live here.” 

“Edwards?”

“A family servant. My dad insisted.” 

Liam snickered and Julian frowned, ready to become annoyed. “What?”

“Nothing. You’re just the only guy I’ve ever met who has an actual servant.” Liam sounded fond, so Julian relaxed a little, even if he didn't appreciate being laughed at. “What does he do? Serve you meals and give you backrubs and stuff?”

Julian wasn't about to tell him Edwards’ full list of duties, but he had to tell him something, so he shrugged casually. “It was my dad's idea. I don't need him. I guess he tidies up and things like that. I don't think he'll be with me forever.”

Liam hummed thoughtfully. “So your dad's the worrying type?”

“Not really.” 

Liam shifted on the bed so that he was lying down on his side. He wrapped an arm around Julian's waist and pulled him close. Julian didn't resist. He was kind of enjoying talking to Liam. He had a calming sort of air about him, he didn't seem like the pigs that entered their games or like the stuffed shirts that his dad associated with.

“I wish my dad gave me a servant when I moved out. Would be nice to have someone to tidy up my shit and do my laundry and all that.” 

“It's not so great. If I could, I’d give you Edwards. He’s an asshole.”

Liam laughed again, but this time Julian felt it was with him rather than at him. “How is he an asshole?”

Julian supposed a lot of the reasons that made Edwards an asshole were things he couldn't tell Liam about. “He just is.”

“Hang on. Is he that older dude with the intense sort of look? Kind of muscley?” 

Julian blinked, “Maybe. Why?”

“I saw someone like that when I was coming up here. He’s kind of hot.”

Julian pulled a face, “It must have been someone else.”

“I don't know, I-” Liam was interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up from the bedside cabinet and groaned when he saw the number. “I have to take this.”

Julian nodded, although he disliked the sudden loss of warmth when Liam got up out of bed. He watched him, enjoying the view as Liam paced slowly back and forth as he talked on the phone. He was speaking in another language. Julian thought it was Chinese at first, but then he realised it sounded different. When Liam hung up, he sighed and apologised.

“Sorry about that. It's my mom. She gets nervous sometimes.” 

“Nervous about what?” 

“All sorts of things. My dad got hit by a car a couple of months back and it put her anxiety through the roof. He’s okay, by the way. A broken leg, that's all.” Liam ran his hand through his hair, a lingering tension seeming to hang on him, making his body tense and uptight. He muttered something underneath his breath, suddenly seeming like he had gone somewhere far away inside of his mind.

Julian wasn't good at feigning sympathy, but he supposed he should try. “Are you alright?” 

“Huh?” Liam snapped back into the room. “Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“What was that language you were speaking?” 

“Vietnamese. It's what we use at home.” 

“Oh.” Julian supposed making the police think Xiang's murder was a Chinese gang thing wouldn't work anymore. Or maybe it would still be okay. He didn't know much about Vietnam, other than what he’d seen in war movies. 

Liam sat on the side of the bed and put his face into his hands.

“Are you… Hey, are you alright?” Julian hesitated, then put a hand on Liam’s back. He didn't seem to be crying, but he was obviously upset. 

“I’ll be fine. I’m just a little stressed, I guess.” He rubbed his eyes then sat up straight, Julian hoped that meant he was snapping out of it. He still has things he wanted to talk about, and he hadn't signed up for dealing with Liam's angst. If his dad was alive, why was his mom in such a mess about things anyway? She sounded neurotic. “You don't have any weed do you?” 

“No. I don't smoke.” It wasn't that he hadn't been curious to try it, but his dad would never have allowed it in the house. He turned his nose up at such stuff. Julian honestly thought that he would prefer if he developed a coke habit, at least that wasn't cheap. 

“My nerves are shot. I should go home.” Liam began to stand up, and Julian panicked. He couldn't let him leave yet. Sure, he could invite him back, but he wanted the situation dealt with.

“Wait.” Julian caught his arm. “Do you know where to get some?”

Liam looked surprised. Then vaguely amused. “It's okay. I don't want to get you into trouble. I’ve got stuff at home. Tonight's been fun. We should do it again sometime.”

“You won't get me in trouble.” As long as Edwards didn't find out. “Why don't you order some. I’ll pay for it.”

“You don't have to-”

“I want to. Consider it a favour. For uh, keeping me company.” He smiled, and although he thought he sounded like he was obviously lying, Liam smiled. 

“You’re sweet.” He pecked him on the lips then picked up his phone again. 

Julian was so relieved.

\--

Edwards was exhausted by the time he got away from Mara. It wasn't in a bad way, he had enjoyed himself, but he as he got older he found her increasingly hard to keep up with. She could still knock them back, whereas he got woozy after his second drink.

She was celebrating. Apparently she was getting married. Edwards had felt unexpectedly envious of her. He hadn't even known she was seeing someone. He supposed that made him a bad friend.

He hadn't ever really given marriage serious thought before. However, as he got further in middle age, it entered his mind every so often. 

Maybe it was the alcohol, but as he fumbled with his keys and failed to find the right one over and over, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of melancholy that Xiang hadn't called him back. He sighed and rested his head against the door. Slowly, he crumpled against it until he was slouched on the floor. 

It wasn't that cold out. He figured there wasn't any harm in getting some rest outside before trying to find his keys again.

He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for, but it must have been a while because it was much colder and darker than he remembered. He could feel someone’s hands on him, and he jerked back suddenly. His semi-conscious brain assumed he was being robbed. “Get off!”

There was a familiar giggle. “It's me, Kelly. I was trying to wake you up.”

Edwards felt himself go red. He gaped up at Xiang and with his help, got up onto his feet. “I'm sorry. God. I’m so embarrassed.”

“I didn't know if it was you at first. I thought maybe a homeless man had fallen asleep in front of your door.” Xiang smiled. Edwards wasn't sure if he was making fun of him, but if he was, he deserved it. 

“I’m really sorry.”

“It's okay.”

Xiang must have finally gotten off work and come over because he had called him earlier. He was sweet. Edwards felt like a jerk for letting him see him that way. He wasn't sure what he looked like, but he felt rough, and shivery, so he was probably a mess.

“I never usually get that drunk, but my friend just got engaged and-”

“It's fine.” Xiang put a hand on his arm, and then, he did something that surprised Edwards. He stood up on his tiptoes and kissed him.

It was brief, and light, but it was definitely a kiss. Edwards had felt Xiang's lips, soft and warm, against his own. 

He was stunned for a moment, but then he decided he couldn't let that go unreciprocated. He leaned down, ready to kiss again, but Xiang placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. A slightly mischievous smile graced his features, which were as lovely as ever. How pretty he was only made Edwards more self-conscious of his own roughness. He was a little stubbly. If he had known Xiang was going to kiss him, he would have shaved. He would have worn cologne.

“That's enough for tonight. You should go to bed. You have work tomorrow, right?” Xiang reminded him, the reminder was an unwelcome one.

“Do you want to come in for a bit?” He asked, hoping he didn't sound too desperate. Judging by Xiang's expression, he did a bit. “Sorry.”

“It's okay, you’re drunk. We should meet up another time. Perhaps you could come to mine.”

Edwards wanted to convince him to go inside with him, and he wanted to kiss him again, but he sensed that if he kept pushing, Xiang would become annoyed. So he nodded. 

“Good. Here, let me help you.”

Xiang must have gotten his keys from his pocket, but Edwards barely noticed. He was too busy scolding himself for letting himself go like that. Clearly all his thought about marriage had made him act rashly. That and the booze.

The front door clicked open and Xiang handed him his keys. “Goodnight, Kelly. I’ll call you soon.”

Edwards smiled as best as he could. “Goodnight.”

\--

The next day, Julian wasn't sure what was a dream and what had actually happened. All he knew for sure was that weed sucked. At first, it had made him feel lighter, and looser, and then he felt all shaky. Everything was too loud. He could hear his heartbeat, and it was fast, way too fast. His head hurt. He remembered bursting into tears and begging Liam to help him make it stop. But that part had to be a dream, he’d never do that.

He thought he remembered Liam getting him some water and something sweet. Maybe chocolate? He had vomited shortly after. 

He could remember Liam's hand on his back. It was soothing. Surprisingly so. 

At some point, he must have gone to bed, because he woke up once in the early hours of the morning and he saw Liam getting ready to leave. Maybe for work?

“I didn't bring a bag, I’ll come by and collect the stuff later. Take care, okay?” Liam kissed him on the forehead. Julian supposed it was because his mouth was gross after being sick. 

“Stuff?” He asked, half asleep and confused.

“The weed. I’ll be back later.” 

“Oh. Okay.” 

He was going to hide it before Edwards came back, but as soon as Liam left, he fell back asleep. The weed lay out inconspicuously coffee table.

He woke up later to the sound of Edwards nagging him. He couldn't make out what he was saying at first, it just sounded like angry, intrusive noise, but gradually he began to understand it. 

“I said, are you listening to me?” 

Julian mumbled the first words that came to his mind, a string of expletives, and he was rewarded for his efforts with a hard smack on his ass. 

“Ouch! What the fuck… I’m sick! You can't hit me!” 

“Oh no? That's only the beginning. Where the hell did you even get that stuff? You don't even smoke.” 

Julian turned over onto his back, to protect his ass, and scowled up at Edwards. He still felt like crap, and he was sure he looked like crap too, but he sneered anyway.

“Why? Do you want some?” 

Edwards rolled his eyes and then seized Julian by the ankles. The younger man shrieked, and tried to kick, but before he could, Edwards had pulled him so that his legs were dangling off the side of the bed. He flipped him over and pressed down onto his back with one large, strong hand. 

“Let go! You can't! I said I’m sick!” He protested, struggling as best as he could.

“That's why you're not getting the paddling you deserve for being so damn stupid. Now quit kicking unless you want me to change my mind!” 

Julian didn't want him to change his mind but he didn't stop kicking. Edwards cursed underneath his breath and sat down beside him. With a bit of a struggle, he pinned down Julian’s legs with his own. 

Then, he started smacking him. Even without the paddle and even with his pyjama bottoms up, it still hurt. Each one landed with a loud thwack and was followed by another and another. It was fast and merciless and Julian was soon screaming into the soft quilt on top of his bed. He didn't know how long it lasted, but it lasted long enough for his throat to be burning and for his screams to have turned into sobs. 

“I go away for one night, and this is what I come back to. You are such a brat.” Edwards said as his hand fell over and over. “If only someone had done this to you a long time ago, maybe you would have turned out like an actual grown up.”

Julian wanted to argue, to tell him that he didn't know anything, but he couldn't. All he could seem to do was wail and yelp and hope it would be over soon. 

He hated it. It wasn't fair. He had moved out, he was making plans, but he was still getting spanked like he was some sort of naughty kid.  
Edwards was wrong. He was a grown up. He could smoke weed and do whatever he liked. He wanted to tell him that. But he didn't. He just continued to sob.

His pyjama bottoms were pulled down, and Julian panicked. “Don't!”

He heard Edwards sigh. “Quiet.” 

He pulled them back up. “That'll do.”

After the spanking, Julian crawled back into bed and sulked. He wouldn't have called it sulking, but there was really no other words for it. He wondered if he could also convince Liam to get rid of Edwards as well as Xiang. He would be sure to ask him when he came back later to collect the weed.


End file.
